


Going through hell together

by ravenandrose13



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: And Robin is a reasonable father and stays at home with his kids for once, F/F, Set during/after 5x11, Swan Queen all the way, Warnings May Change, and Snow is actually pretty chill, as per usual Regina is hurt A LOT, but it's anti hook, sadly hook is in this story, they're going through hell - literally
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 08:46:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16133777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenandrose13/pseuds/ravenandrose13
Summary: Emma feels responsible for Hook's death and so they all go to the underworld together. Emma, Regina and their family have to deal with all sorts of mythological figures to get what Emma wants. But she isn't sure what that is anymore. Oh and Regina is madly in love with Emma.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on what season 5B should have been like. There's gonna be some graphic content in later chapters, but I'll give you a trigger warning at the beginning of each chapter. I always love to hear what you guy think.
> 
> Mwah!

Regina had never been fond of boats. Especially not the dingy ones like the ferry she was sitting on right now. It was cold and damp and she couldn’t see a single thing cause the mist around the small boat was thick as a wall. Henry had put his head on her shoulder, listening to the sounds the small waves made when they collided with the ferry.

Regina looked ahead. Emma stood silently and stoically on the bow of the ferry, staring into nothing. She hadn’t talked or moved since they had gone on board. Regina was worried about her. The blonde had just come back from darkness and hadn’t dealt with all the awful things she had done as the Dark One. And that Regina knew, would sooner or later come back to bite her.  
  
Behind her, she heard David ask Gold: “How far is it?”  
  
“I always thought a shepherd needed to have patience.” Gold snarked, before continuing, “But not very far. Look!”  
  
He pointed with his finger to the mist. It was getting lighter and soon enough the ferry landed unceremoniously on the shore.  
The group departed and looked around. They stood in the entrance of a giant cave. The ground of was black gravel that looked like lava rocks. An eerie and unnatural glow seemed to shine from within the cave. Regina inspected the walls a little closer. It seemed like there was a layer of fluorescent fluid constantly dripping from the stone and upon reaching the ground it evaporated into steam.  
  
“Welcome to the underworld, dearies” Rumple mocked.  
  
Regina rolled her eyes and stepped next to Emma. “Come on, let’s go get your pirate.” She said and walked into the mouth of hell, the others following suit.

* * *

  
It was hot in the Underworld. The Team had discarded their coats after only half an hour of walking steady downhill. The landscaping didn’t allow for more than two people to walk next to each other so Emma had taken the lead, Henry and her parents close behind and Regina with Gold as the rear guard.  
  
“I still don’t understand you people.” Rumple snarled, his words only meant for Regina to hear, “You’re going to the underworld, voluntarily, I might add, to retrieve some sleazy pirate.”  
  
Regina sighed. “I’m not here for Hook. I am here because my family needs me.”  
  
Gold chuckled. “This family of yours doesn’t even understand the risk you are taking just for being here.”  
  
When Regina didn’t respond and just continued on walking he added: “The underworld was made for the dead. My guess is we’re going to meet a lot of people you and I had a hand in putting down here. Some are very powerful people. Dangerous people.”  
  
Regina turned her head to look at him. “Well then, I suggest you better watch your back.”  
  
Gold wanted to answer but at that moment their little group had reached an obstacle. She heard the rushing of water and stepped next to her son. A broad stream blocked them from going any further.  
  
“The water isn’t deep maybe we could just walk through it.” David suggested and made a move towards the water.  
  
“Don’t move.” Gold implored.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“That is the river Lethe. It means forgetting. The dead souls drink it to forget their memories from their living days. God knows what it’ll do to someone who’s still alive.” Rumple explained.  
  
David took a cautionary step back.  
  
“How do you know that?” Regina asked.  
  
The Dark One smiled slyly. “I’ve been down here before, remember?”  
  
“And how are we supposed to get over there?” Emma asked.  
  
Gold looked at her like she was a child. “We follow the river and see if there is a bridge we can cross. Obviously.”  
  
Emma looked like she wanted to strangle him, but she managed to keep herself together. “Why don’t you lead the way then, if you’re such an underworld expert?”  
  
And so they marched on, Gold in the lead. Sure enough, after a while they came to an archaic looking stone bridge, that spanned over the stream. It was unnatural broad, Regina thought they could all walk next to each other with ease. Suddenly they heard a rumble. There was something on the other side of the bridge and it was getting closer. Something giant and with dark…fur?  
  
“What the hell?” Emma asked, staring at a giant three-headed dog.  
  
“I forgot to mention.” Gold almost laughed, „Meet Cerberus, guard dog of Hades. He only lets dead people pass.”  
  
As if he’d understood the dog growled with all three mouths and positioned himself square in the middle of their passage.  
  
“How are we getting past him? Surely we won’t have to murder him, right?” Snow looked at Gold. The idea of needlessly killing an animal - any animal- was horrible for her.    
  
“I have an idea.” Henry grinned at the adults, “I read a story about this guy Orpheus who went to the underworld to get his wife back and he was such an amazing musician that he played songs for the dog until it fell asleep.”  
  
“That is a really good idea, kid. Only Problem: None of us is a hell of a musician.”  
  
“No.” Regina smiled, “But we have magic.”  
  
And with a wave of her hand, she conjured a big harp, that was playing on its own. The dog looked a bit perplexed at first but soon his six eyelids started to drop and a little while later he was sound asleep, his body sprawling over the entire bridge.  
  
“Good job, your majesty.” Gold mocked. “Now all we have to do is climb over the beast that could wake up at any moment”  
  
“Wait, can’t we just poof us over there?” Emma frowned.  
  
“no, you can’t transport yourself with magic in the land of the dead” Gold explained, “Why else did you think we needed a bridge to cross the river?”  
  
Henry snickered. “So the Underworld is like Hogwarts? You can’t apparate in and out of it?”  
  
“Correct, Henry, even though your analogy is a bit insulting.”  
  
David intervened. “Could we maybe talk about this later and get over there before Fluffy here wakes up?”   
   
So they all tiptoed over to the giant dog and tried to get over his legs while avoiding the heads. Just as they were passing he turned in his sleep and one of his paws hit Regina hard in the back and the brunette fell to the ground.  
  
“Regina!” Emma yelled and ran to the brunette to help her up. But the moment of disorientation had caused Regina to lose focus and the harp had stopped playing. Mere moments later Cerberus woke up. Emma tried to use her magic and make the harp play again but the beast brushed the instrument down the bridge with one head, before turning all three on the small group between his paws. One of his teeth was as long as Emma's entire arm.  
  
“Ma” Henry whispered, “What are we gonna do?”  
  
“Divide up and run” Emma whispered back.  
  
“Can’t we just use magic?” Regina hissed, staring down one of the heads and rubbing her back with one hand.  
  
“No time for that, one missed hit and you’re dog chew. NOW RUN!” The blonde shouted and all of them turned on their heels.  
  
It was chaotic, to say the least. Regina heard claws scraping against stone, the dog snarling, the river of forgetting almost boiling under them. Finally, she reached the other side and passed through some sort of invisible magic wall, presumably a protection spell. She immediately pulled Henry close to her, who had reached the barrier at the same time as her. A few moments later others followed.  
But not everyone had made through the barrier safely.

  
“Snow!” David screamed, “Snow where are you?”  
  
“What happened?” Emma asked her father.  
  
“I don’t know, she was right behind me, she told me to keep running and I did.”  
  
Regina looked over to the black beast. It had calmed down again and sat in the middle of the bridge, staring to the other side, the six humans apparently forgotten, which probably had something to do with the barrier.  
  
“I’m gonna go look for her.” Emma declared.  
  
 “I’ll go with you.” David said.  
  
Henry wanted to chime in but Emma was faster: “You all stay here, in case something happens.”  
  
“But-“  
  
“No Henry, stay with your mom.”  
  
The blonde shot Regina a look, who nodded and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.    
  
So Emma and David carefully made their way back to the bridge. Cerberus didn’t even twitch with his ears. But there was no sign of Snow anywhere. Then Emma looked down to the river and noticed a huddled figure lying on the shore, right below the bridge.  
  
“There!”  
  
And as quiet and swift as possible the two of them climbed down the rocky bank.  
  
“Careful, don’t touch the water” Emma reminded her father, once they were down.  
  
David fell on his knees beside his wife.

“Snow?” He softly shook her shoulder.

“Snow, can you hear me?”  
  
Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked a few times, clearly still disoriented.

“What happened? Where am I?”  
  
David smiled at her. “You must’ve fallen off the bridge while running from Cerberus.”  
  
“Cerberus? I- have no idea who that is. And who are you?”

 


	2. Welcome to The Darkness Inn. Enjoy your stay!

_“Snow, can you hear me?”_  
  
_Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked a few times, clearly still disoriented._  
  
_“What happened? Where am I?”_  
  
_David smiled at her. “You must’ve fallen off the bridge while running from Cerberus.”_  
  
_“Cerberus? I- have no idea who that is. And who are you?”_

* * *

 

Emma and Charming shared a concerned look.  
  
“I – I’m David, your husband” he finally answered.  
  
Snow laughed, “I don’t have a husband. I know father wants me to marry, but I am too young for that he said.”  
  
“O-kay.” Emma said, a bewildered look on her face, “Let’s get away from here first and we can figure this out later.”  
  
Snow nodded. “That seems like an acceptable course of action. Who are you, my lady?”  
  
Emma was caught off guard yet again.  
  
“Uh…I’m…Emma. Not a lady.” She said, not wanting to distress Snow even more, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”  
  
The climb back up was easier than down. And a short while later they passed through the barrier again, where Henry and Regina were waiting impatiently for them to return. Gold meanwhile sat stoically on a large rock, looking both bored and annoyed at the same time.  
  
“You found her!” Henry happily said but his smile fell when he saw the look on his mother’s face.

Snow on the other hand started smiling and to everyone’s surprise ran over to Regina and pulled her into a hug.  
  
“Regina, I am so glad to see a familiar face! What are we doing here? And where is father? I am so confused.” She rambled on, still embracing the other woman.

Regina for her part was more than confused herself. She stood stock still, holding her hands up and looking back at Emma.  
  
“What the hell happened?”  
  
The blonde sighed and let herself fall on another boulder before she started explaining.

“She fell into the river. She doesn’t remember me or David.”  
  
Regina sighed deeply. She was beginning to get a migraine.  
  
“Alright.”  
  
 She pulled Snow a little away from her, holding her by her forearms.  
  
“Snow…dear. Can you tell me what the last thing is that you remember?”  
  
The younger woman nodded.  
  
“My birthday party. Daddy got me a pony. It had flowers weaved in its mane and it even bowed to me.” She remembered, her eyes shining.  
  
Now Regina felt her migraine even more. Still, she plastered on a fake smile and conjured up some fairytale style traveling clothes behind her back. Then she handed them to Snow. 

“You are soaking wet. Why don’t you go behind that big stone over there and change.”

Snow looked a little distraught at the idea of changing clothes under those conditions but she did as she was told. When she wasn’t in earshot anymore Regina explained to the others. 

“What she described was her 15th birthday.” 

“She thinks she’s 15?” Henry asked incredulously.  
  
“Apparently.” Regina nodded.  
  
Gold stood up and walked over to the group.  
  
“If I were to wager a guess I’d say the more you are exposed to the waters, the more you are forgetting from your life.”

Emma looked up. “Any idea of how to get her memories back?”  
  
Everyone in her family shook their heads no.  
  
Again Gold spoke: “But I know who might have an idea. A bit further down this road-“ He pointed to a small path that went deeper into the Underworld, “is a house. Its owner is always welcoming souls, weary from traveling. Maybe he’ll be willing to help.”  
  
“Then it’s best we don’t waste any time.” David said, glad that there was something to do again.   

* * *

  
On their journey to this mysterious man Gold talked about, Snow never wanted to leave Regina’s side, asking her question after question.  
  
“Why are we here? Who are those people? What are you and they wearing? Why did that man say he was my husband? Where are we? Why don’t I know these things?”  
  
Regina frowned, her headache was getting worse. Emma, who was walking in front of them, shot Regina a sympathetic look. 

“It’s a long story, Snow. We’re in a different land and those people are friends, you don’t have to worry about them. You hit your head during the fall, that’s why you can’t remember. We’re gonna find a way to make you remember again though, but in the meantime you just have to trust us.”  
  
Snow nodded and liked arms with Regina.

“You’re my stepmother and you've always looked out for me. Of course I trust you.”  
  
The older woman swallowed. She didn’t know what to answer to that. Again, Emma looked back at them and saw the turmoil in Regina’s eyes. She let herself fall back to the pair and looked at Snow.  
  
“Would you mind if you walked with Henry for a bit, Snow? I need to talk to Regina. Why don’t you tell Henry about horses, he’d love to hear that.” She smiled.  
  
Reluctantly Snow let go of Regina and walked up to Henry.  
  
Regina sighed a sigh of relief. „Thank you.“  
  
„No problem, the least I can do now that you’re stuck with my mother.“  
  
After that the two women walked in silence for a while. They came across some sort of desert, the rocks shrinking further and further until the only thing that was left was sand. Still, the path they were walking on was cobbled and wide so their track wasn’t very strenuous.    
  
“This is not your fault. You know that right?” The brunette asked eventually.  
  
Emma looked grim. “It is my fault, Regina. I wanted to go to the underworld.”  
  
“Yes and we wanted to come with you.” 

“Exactly. And I didn’t stop you. You are all in danger because of me. Look what already happened!”  
  
Regina shook her head. “Everyone is down here because they want to be. Because they want to help.”  
  
“But maybe you all should go back and I can take it from here. I mean we have no idea what else is going to happen.”  
  
“And this is precisely why we’ll be staying.” Regina made a pause before continuing, “You and I, we’re used to fighting our battles alone, cause that’s the way it’s always been. But now, it’s different. You’re not alone anymore, Emma.”  
  
The blonde smiled at Regina. A small, unsure smile. Listening to Regina, she actually felt better. Somehow the brunette always managed to get through to her.  
  
“Thanks, Regina.”  
  
“You’re very welcome, Emma.”  
  
 A few moments of silence passed between them.  
  
“You know” Emma shuffled with her feet, “You’re not alone anymore, too.”  
  
Regina looked Emma directly in the eyes and Emma wasn’t sure if she ever wanted her to look away. She had always loved Regina’s eyes, she could probably drown in her gaze. Platonically speaking, of course. They were friends. Good friends. And you could admire a friend’s objectively pretty eyes, right?  
  
“I know.” The brunette answered softly and a soft smile spread across her lips. Very soft and inviting looking lips. Again, objectively speaking. Not that Emma spent a lot of time just staring at Regina. Nope.    
  
David’s voice interrupted whatever had been going on between the two women.  
  
“We’re here!” 

* * *

  
The ‘house’ of Erebus was a bit of an understatement. It looked like an old-fashioned Inn, with an actual garden complete with fencing surrounding it. To be fair the garden mostly consisted of dead plants and trees as well as some rocks thrown haphazardly in between.  
  
“Well that certainly seems very inviting” Regina quipped, as they walked up the path to the small porch.  
  
Emma looked at the metal door knocker.  
  
“So…do we just…knock?”    
  
“That would be the polite thing to do” a rusty voice sounded from behind the group. 

Everyone quickly turned around. Before them stood a man, dressed in pitch black robes. Under his wide-brimmed hat, dark tresses poked out and were matched by an equally dark full beard. He lifted his head. His face was shockingly pale and his skin almost transparent.  
  
“Who are you?” Emma demanded to know, while at the same time Regina readied a fireball. Or she tried to but she couldn’t seem to form one.  
  
“Don’t bother, sweetheart, anything that produces light won’t work here.” He said to Regina and then turned to Emma, “Because I am Erebus, born of Chaos, one of the first beings in existence and God of darkness. And this is my home.”  
  
“Wow, that’s a mouthful,” Emma whispered.  
  
Charming, who had instinctively pushed himself in front of Snow, now looked at the deity: “We don’t want any trouble. But we could actually use your help.”  
The God tipped himself on the hat.  
  
“Then come on in.” He said and walked between them and opened the heavy wooden door and revealed what was behind it: nothing. Well, nothing but darkness.  
  
“But I must warn you” he said as he stepped inside, “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows up in here” he chuckled at his own joke.  
  
Emma looked at Regina, who merely shrugged her shoulders.  
  
“He’s the best lead we got. The only lead.” The brunette said. The savior sighed before entering the literal house of darkness. 

  
At first, Emma saw nothing.  
  
“Keep going” She heard the broken voice of the god.  
  
So she did and after a few steps she could suddenly see. There was no source of light, yet she could see. In hues of gray, but that was better than nothing. She looked around. They were standing in the foyer and from inside it reminded Emma even more of an Inn, complete with front desk, lounge area and an empty fireplace. Everyone else seemed just as surprised as she was.  
  
“So, why don’t you all sit down and explain how I can help you.” He motioned to the couches next to the fireplace.  
  
Reluctantly everyone sat down. David with Snow, who dragged Regina with her on one, Henry, Emma and Gold on the other.  
  
“Can I offer you some refreshments?” The god asked and tried to smile.  
  
Regina perked up. “No one who eats anything in the underworld gets to leave it ever again. That is why Persephone had to stay. Are we supposed to fall for this?”  
  
Now Erebus grinned. It wasn’t a pretty sight.  
  
“I have always been particularly fond of all the Dark Ones, not just because of the name. But you, your Majesty, are the runner-up. And you are right. You can’t leave the Underworld if you eat anything that was made in or has grown in it. But, you are not in the Underworld anymore. Did you feel the barrier you’d have to have crossed? It surrounds my kingdom, which is _in_ the Underworld but not _of_ it. Hades has no control over me, that is why Rumplestiltzkin here brought you to me in the first place, right?” The small family turned their heads to look at Gold. He nodded.  
  
“Yes, that is the truth.” 

“How do you know who they are?” Henry asked Erebus. 

The god turned his head to the teenager. 

“I am the god of darkness. When you all stepped into my home -darkness itself- I can see the darkest parts of yourself that live or lived inside you. And I know your name as well, Henry.”

“How is that possible?” Emma questioned, “Henry doesn’t have magic and he was never evil.” 

As soon as the word had left her mouth she shot Regina an apologetic glance. 

“It’s not so much about dark magic as all manners of darkness. Dark thoughts, wishes and deeds all stem from the same source. But you're not here to talk about the semantics of the underworld with me, right?.” He fell silent and looked at the group expectantly. 

“We are here to get someone back, who’d died an unfair death.” Emma explained.  
  
Erebus chuckled. “My, that hasn’t happened in a long time. You can’t just come here when you lose someone. That is not how life works.” He looked at Emma with a knowing smile. 

“You already know, don’t you?  You’ve seen what I did as the Dark One. I want Killian Jones back.” Emma stated.  
  
“If that is truly what you wish to do, then I will think about how to help you. But for now, enjoy my hospitality. You’ll find four room keys on the desk over there, I can’t offer you more, the other rooms are taken. Which reminds me, do not enter any other guest rooms. The Erinyes, deities of vengeance, live here as well and you don’t want to get acquainted with them.”    
  
He stood up and looked at the clock. “Food is prepared for you in the kitchen. It is late already, why don’t we discuss the details of your mission tomorrow morning?”  
  
Then without waiting for an answer he walked out of the house, effectively ending the conversation.  
  
“That man is really strange.” Snow said, “Polite, but very strange”  
  
 Gold nodded. “He might seem a bit – off, but don’t underestimate him.” 

“Why did you think he’d be willing to help us anyway? This could very well be a trap” Regina said, standing up.

“Because Erebus hates being down here. Think about it, he is one of the oldest deities to have existed, beyond powerful and he is practically a sub-tenant in the Underworld, who is ruled by his grand nephew. He’ll use any chance he can get to undermine Hades.”

Emma nodded. “Sounds plausible. But be on guard, just in case. I’m gonna go look for the guy, because I still need to talk to him about - stuff” she said, looking pointedly at the back of Snow White’s head, “I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a bit. We’ll know more tomorrow.” 

“How is there even a day and night rhythm in the Underworld?” Regina sighed exasperated, throwing her hands up before following the others into the kitchen.

* * *

  
The blonde finally found the god in his back garden, tending to a bush of dead roses.  
  
“Why do you have a garden if you can’t grow anything here?” She found herself asking before she knew it. 

“Just because something was touched by darkness doesn’t mean it isn’t worth anything anymore. A mentality I’m sure you’ll agree with.”  
  
“Yeah, that is why I want to save Hook.”

Erebus chuckled again. “Savior, I’ve seen your darkest corners, you can’t hide from me anymore. You want to save him because then you think all the evil things you did as the Dark One will be forgiven. Once you smash a plate it is broken you can never truly fix it again. You can apologize for breaking it, you can even glue it back together, but you’re still going to see the cracks. Why don’t you talk to the Evil Queen about that, I bet she could write a book about that. Or ten.”  
  
“She is not evil anymore.” Emma immediately replied, a frown on her face. 

Erebus ignored her outburst and stood up. “But you didn’t come here to philosophize about existential questions with me, have you?”

“No. I need your help with something else. That woman in there, Snow White, she fell into that river of forgetting thing and now she only has her memories up until her 15th birthday.  We need to get her memories back.” 

The God seemed to think about it. “We, too, shall discuss this tomorrow morning.”

* * *

  
Apart from the strangely behaving god of darkness, Emma had other problems to deal with: After dinner, which actually wasn’t bad, they had encountered yet another obstacle: There were four rooms, which had to be shared somehow. Gold had made clear very early on that he was forced to accompany all of them to the Underworld and didn’t even think about sharing a room. He had bid them goodnight and slipped into a guest room. Snow didn’t seem too excited about sharing a room either.  
  
“But, I am a princess, next in line to rule a kingdom and unwed. I don’t think I can…share a room.” She almost whispered the last part as if it might be cursed. 

Emma saw Regina pinching the bridge of her nose. She could relate. All she wanted was five minutes of quiet. Henry, who had inspected all their rooms, rejoined them. 

“Okay.” Emma crossed her arms, she was exhausted and just wanted to get this over with, “Snow, you can have a room for yourself. Henry, give her a key.”  
  
The boy handed the item over and with a lot of ‘thank you’s and ‘goodnight’s Snow disappeared into her room. Henry held up the two leftover keys.  
  
“One room has two beds, the other a double bed.” he informed the adults.  
  
“Why don’t Henry and I share the two single bedroom?” David asked.  
  
“Sure.” The boy shrugged, he always loved sleepovers at his grandparents’. Even if this was different.  
  
“But that leaves…” Emma trailed off and couldn’t even look at Regina. The brunette frowned.  
  
“Well, I don’t think you fancy sharing a room with your old man. I snore.” David explained, “And I’m willing to bet that Regina does not want to be my roommate just as much as I don’t want to be hers.”  
  
Regina snorted. “For once, we seem to be on the same page”

“Good.” David smiled, “Then it’s settled.” 

* * *

  
Neither Emma nor Regina had said a word to each other on the way to their room. Emma didn’t talk because she was embarrassed, Regina because she was mad. Now the door was falling shut behind women. Regina shrugged off her blazer, revealing toned, bare arms. She walked over to the bed.  
  
“Left or right?” the brunette asked without looking at Emma.  
  
The blonde hadn’t paid attention and that definitely wasn’t because Regina starting to disrobe while walking towards a bed made her feel funny. Absolutely not.  
  
“Huh?”  
  
Regina turned around, blazer in hand, “Would you prefer the left or right side of the bed?” The annoyance in her voice now evident.  
  
“Um…” she had never thought about which bedside she preferred. As a kid she had been happy if she had a bed. And Hook had never asked her about such things. He had just let himself fall on one side one night and that had been that.  
  
Now Regina rolled her eyes and sighed, misinterpreting the blonde’s lack of response.  
  
“For someone who has been in prison I didn’t think you’d be so stuck up.”  
  
That snapped Emma out of it. “What? No, I’m not…stuck up.”  
  
“Then why do you look like you’ll bolt out of here any second? Is the thought of sharing a – a room with me so appalling to you?”

It was clear that the word she had meant to say instead of 'room' was 'bed'.  
  
Now Emma really was confused and slowly getting angry. Why was everything a battle with this woman?  
  
“Are you insane? I am not appalled by you! Why would you even think that? I just – I have a lot to deal with at the moment and I didn’t concentrate. Okay?!” she snapped.  
  
 Now it was Regina’s turn to look embarrassed.  
  
“Oh. I...see. This-this place, the Underworld, it makes me feel uneasy. I shouldn’t have said those things. I apologize.”  
  
Emma felt all the anger fall away from her. Regina didn’t apologize to a lot of people and Emma appreciated it when she was one of those. 

“It’s fine, I shouldn’t have yelled at you either. I get what you mean about this place, it makes me a bit queasy as well.”  
  
They smiled tentatively at each other.  
  
“And…I’ll take the left side, if that’s okay with you” 

* * *

  
A little while later they lay in bed next to each other, both staring at the ceiling. Emma turned to her side, her cheek resting on her pillow and eyed Regina.  
  
“Did I say thank you yet? You know, for coming along and helping?"  
  
Regina turned her head on her pillow. In the darkness, Emma could barely make out the shapes of her face.  
  
“You don’t need to thank me for that. That’s what friends are for, right?” she answered, her voice soft and almost vulnerable.  
  
Emma chuckled lightly. “You know, this is the first time you said that you’re my friend.”  
  
“Yes, well don’t flatter yourself.” Regina smiled, trying to get back on safe grounds.  
  
“Oh, no, your majesty, I’d never.” Emma played happily along.  
  
Then they both looked back up to the ceiling.

The Underworld was strange, it had a habit of stirring in your feelings and then dragging your emotions right up to the surface. And Emma was feeling scared. She had put her whole family including her son in jeopardy because she wanted to fix the mistakes she’s made. And she was supposed to be the savior, the leader, the one guiding them, but she felt so lost and unsure of herself. Although having Regina with her made her feel much better. The two of them had conquered a lot of things, together.     
  
“I’m really glad you’re here.” The blonde voiced her last thought before she knew it. She turned her head to look at Regina only to find that the brunette was already staring at her intently again.  
  
“Of course.” Regina whispered, “Where else would I be?”


	3. Of Talks, Travels and Technology

The next morning they all gathered in the Inn’s foyer. Snow was as awfully chipper as Regina remembered her. It was nauseating.  
  
„Good morning, Regina and Lady Emma!“ she greeted the two women once they made it to the couch.   
  
„Uh, morning.“ Emma answered, still not used to seeing her mother like this and judging by David’s pained look on his face neither was he.

He quickly recovered though and smiled at his daughter: „Good to see that the two of you didn’t kill each other last night. Henry and I were a little worried, to be honest.“   
  
Before either Emma or Regina could reply, Snow spoke up again, clearly confused: „Wait. So…the two of you shared a chamber? A-A bed?!“   
  
Regina sighed exasperated and closed her eyes for a moment. She felt Emma next to her getting more agitated by the second.   
  
„Yes, dear.“   
  
„But…Regina. You’re married. To my father, the king of all people!“ the younger woman hissed, as if speaking the words any louder would cause the palace guards to seize them all.   
  
The exasperation drained from Regina’s face and was replaced by a stone cold mask. Emma could see the tenseness in the brunette’s jaw and how her posture suddenly grew rigid. She needed to do something, fast.   
  
„Listen, Snow, it’s not what you’re thinking.“   
  
„Isn’t it?“ her mother shrieked hysterically, „And then with a woman of all people!“   
  
„Hey now, cool it, will ya? And stop talking about things you know nothing about!“   
  
Emma was angry. First Snow was bringing up the king, which on its own was a capital offense in Emma’s book. She had seen the haunted look in Regina’s dark eyes and that was enough for her to put two and two together. Second, she had just implied that Regina was cheating. Third, the blatant homophobia. Which offended her on a personal level.   
  
Snow for her part was completely flabbergasted, „I-I’m a princess. You can’t speak to me that way.“   
  
„I can and I will. Maybe you should check how you’re speaking to Regina, a queen“ she snarled.   
  
„Emma, please“ David implored, trying to contain the situation before something happened.   
  
„No.“ his daughter snapped at him, anger rolling off of her in waves.   
  
Regina had followed the heated discussion with mixed emotions. There was anger directed at Snow and a hell of a lot of pride and appreciation towards Emma. The blonde was talking to the spoilt, young version of Snow the way she herself had wished to do so many times half a lifetime ago. But she didn’t want Emma to have a fight with her parents because of her either, however intriguing the thought was. So she gently laid her hand on Emma’s forearm which immediately made her pause.   
  
„What Emma wants to say is that in the land where she comes from it’s not unusual for two people to share their sleeping quarters. It has nothing to do with being married or not. Nothing scandalous has happened here, Snow.“ Regina explained diplomatically.   
  
Snow visibly relaxed, but Regina wasn’t done: „And I thought I already told you that it is perfectly fine for two people of the same sex to love and be with each other. Like with Shayenne and Beatrix.“ She would not tolerate such a behavior, especially in front of her son, whom she had tried her best to raise as an open-minded and loving person.   
  
Now Snow had the decency to look ashamed. „Yes. I- I know and you’re right. I didn’t want to offend anyone I was just…“   
  
„Confused?“ Henry offered.   
  
Snow nodded.   
  
Thankfully Erebus walked in at that moment before anything else could happen and began talking without a greeting.   
  
“I thought about your problem. There are to ways to go about it. The simplest solution would be to confront Hades directly and ask him to give out this soul you seek. But that could be complicated. Hades doesn’t like to give something up. Just ask his wife.”

“And the other solution?” Regina pressed, annoyed with the god for not coming up with a better plan.   
  
“Since this Killian Jones was a Dark One, a dark soul, I bet Hades has a special place for him. There is a… menagerie of sorts, in his palace, where he keeps his special treasures. Maybe he is one of them.”  
  
“So either we stroll up to the God of death himself and demand Hook back or we break into his castle and steal Hook out from under his nose?” David summarized.   
  
“Basically,” Erebus confirmed with no emotion in his voice.   
  
Emma groaned and turned to the deity: “And our other, uh, problem?”  
  
“Ah, yes. The pond of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. Just a few drops of that water will neutralize the effect of the river Lethe.”

Snow looked a bit confused from one to the other. She didn’t understand most of what these people were talking about, but her stepmother had asked her to trust them and so she would. And she didn’t want to offend anyone again like before. Plus, this David seemed like a very strong and valiant fighter. He would surely protect her if need be.  
  
“Good.” Charming smiled at the prospect of getting his true love back, “Where is this pond?”   
  
“In the palace’s courtyard. Under a white cottonwood tree. Hard to miss. But don’t confuse it with the spring of Lethe, which is right next to the pond under a cypress.”   
  
“Hades’ palace?” Henry asked for clarification, ignoring the botanic lessons.   
  
“Yes.”   
  
“Fantastic.” Regina sighed, sarcasm evident in her voice.  
  
„How about we go get ready and then leave as soon as possible?“ Charming asked. Sitting around and discussing things wasn’t his strong suit. He needed to do _something_.   
  
The others agreed and went about their business. Henry was the first one to be ready. He wanted to ask the god of darkness some things before they left. So the teenager set out to find the god. Erebus was again in his garden, tending to his flowers.   
  
„Do you know how I could find a specific person down here? A dead one I mean.“ Henry shuffled his feet nervously.  
  
Erebus looked at him almost kindly, „You want to see your father...I can sense that all of you have unfinished business with one or more of the dead and yet, only your mother came here to fight for that.“  
  
„I loved my dad,“ Henry said grim, angered at the implication that he didn’t love his father enough for such a feat.   
  
„No need for that anger, boy, family is a complicated thing. No one knows that better than the Greek gods. It wasn’t meant to offend you. I was merely stating a fact. And I have seen your darkness as well and I can tell you don’t want your mother to succeed. Why is that?“   
  
Henry clenched his teeth. He loved Emma and wanted her to be happy it was just…  
  
„Because I hate him. Hook. My mom used dark magic and became the Evil Queen and hurt a lot of people, including me. And my other mom became the Dark One and broke my heart. But they also did good. They got better. But Hook- even before being the Dark One he never really cared for me, or anyone in my family besides my Ma. He never really tried to be better he just did what was best for him. And when he was the Dark One he wanted to kill us all, like last week. Why does he get another chance and my dad didn’t? How is that fair?“   
  
Henry was breathing heavily now, unshed tears in his eyes. Now the god nodded.   
  
„Thank you for your honesty, Henry. And to answer your previous question, I don’t think you’ll find him here. And maybe you shouldn’t. The Underworld is different than any other realm. Magic works differently here and so does emotion. You may have already felt that. And dead souls aren’t the same as the people they once were. Especially when interacting with living beings. There is an eternal disconnect there, they are timeless and without a tether to the living world, unlike you. Even if you found your father, you might find him…aloof and distant, different than you remember him. Don’t tarnish the impression you have of him with that.“    
  
„You think it’s better not to look for him?“ he said, his voice quiet and laced with sadness and realization.   
  
„Yes, I do. But the decision is yours. If you’re a lot like your mother you’ll go despite my warnings.“  
  
„I’m really sorry to cut this philosophical class short but we have to go now.“ Emma told them, stepping out of the Inn, ready to leave.   
  
„One more question. Please.“ Henry said and turned from Emma back to Erebus.  
  
„Are all the dead people here in the underworld?“ Henry asked the God.  
  
Erebus shook his head.   
  
„No, young man, the others are in Elysium or in Tartarus, which basically translates to heaven and hell in the christian worldview respectively. And if you were to get on a boat and sail across the north sea in a different realm you would reach Walhall, the afterlife of the Northern Gods, you would find the same souls there as you would in Elysium.“   
  
„Literally the same or the same kind of people?“   
  
„The same souls. You see, the soul isn’t bound to a place. Depending on your beliefs and other factors you can exist in multiple ‚underworlds‘ at the same time. For a soul though, it is all the same. You don’t feel like you’re split down the middle but rather like you are a part of everything and everything is a part of you. It is almost like your body in that regard.“  
  
"How so?"

"Well, your body is made out of atoms which were once part of other things before they formed you. So inside of you is all the history in the universe combined. And so is your soul. But since your soul isn't something physical, it doesn't have phsycial restraints of time and place like your body does."   
  
„I think I don’t understand that.“  
  
Now Erebus smiled. „One day you will see it for yourself.“

* * *

  
About an hour later they were on their way to Hades’ palace. They had packed a lot of provisions from Erebus, since it was probably the only food they could consume down here. The god had given them detailed instructions on how to find the castle of the master of the Underworld. They had agreed on trying to convince Hades to give Hook back to them, but they were going to sneak into the palace and restore Snow’s memories first, in case the meeting with Hades went south. 

Everyone in the group was affected by what had happened in the Inn.   
Gold had been awfully quiet, mentally planning an escape for himself in case everything went wrong, which if being honest it probably would.   
Henry was thinking about the conversation he had had with Erebus, mulling over the words in his head.   
Charming missed his wife and didn’t know what to do with that snotty teenager he was stuck with now. That woman walking by his side just wasn’t his Snow. He didn’t like to admit it, but if Snow hadn’t become a bandit and grew into the strong but kind woman he loved and instead stayed like the spoilt princes she was now he couldn’t imagine falling in love with her.   
Snow herself was mulling over what Lady Emma and Regina had told her. She was still mad at Emma but at the same time admired how she had defended her stepmother. She would make a good knight, if it were possible for women to get knighted that is.   
And Emma was determined to complete their mission and find a way back home. Strange, that she thought of this as a mission and not as a deeply emotional hail mary attempt to get her boyfriend back. Her thoughts wandered to Regina. Regina, who had tried everything to get her true love Daniel back from the dead. Everything except going to the Underworld. Maybe she hadn’t known about this place then. If she had, she’d probably gone as well. A chill ran down Emma’s spine. Regina had become the Evil Queen over her heartbreak and did terrible things in the name of avenging her lost love. Was Emma about to beome the same? She certainly seemed to make a good start. Emma’s thoughts were interrupted, when Regina walked up to her.  
  
„Thank you for before.“ her quiet voice steady and honest. 

„You don’t have to thank me, not for that. Snow was a brat. I don’t know how she could’ve said those things!“   
  
„Well, she grew up in a different world.“   
  
„Still.“   
  
„Who are Sheyenne and Beatrix?“ Emma wanted to know, suddenly remembering the two names Regina had brought up.   
  
The brunette chuckled.   
  
„They worked in the palace. Sheyenne was a handmaiden and Beatrix worked in the kitchen. They were a few years older than Snow and when she was little she used to play with them now and then. Anyway, they fell in love with each other and asked the king and I for permission to marry. It wasn’t uncommon at the time to be attracted to people of your own sex but in some places and depending on the reigning monarch it came with a few obstacles. The king wasn’t that progressive I’m afraid, and denied them their request. Naturally, they were heartbroken.“   
  
„What happened then?“ Emma asked when Regina didn’t continue for some time.   
  
„I don’t know why I decided to help them. Maybe they reminded me of Daniel and myself or maybe I just wanted to defy the king…anyway, I told them that a king and a priest weren’t the only people with the power to marry two people. A captain has the same right on his or her ship. So I may or may not have given them provisions and directions to visit a female pirate captain, who was partial to all that differed from the norm and all too happy to unite the two of them.“   
  
Emma grinned while listening to Regina’s story. That woman was such a big softie, even if she didn’t think so herself. For the second time today Emma felt a wave of affection for the brunette. 

* * *

  
When they could see the palace, Emma directed them away from the path and up a small incline, just like Erebus had said. From up here, they had a good view of the palace. It was close enough to reach it quickly but still relatively safe.   
  
“Okay, so Regina and I are going in there with Snow to find that pond thingy.”   
  
“And what are we supposed to do?” David asked, frowning.  
  
“You need to stay here in case Hades gets wind of this and or doesn’t want to give us Hook.”    
  
“No!” Henry protested, “We’re not letting you go in there alone, we can help”  
  
 „No, you guys stay here. Regina is only allowed to come cause I could use her help with magic. So please, just stay put. We’re gonna get you in a little while.“  
  
Henry watched the three women leaving, a frown on his face. 

* * *

  
So Emma, Regina and Snow made their way to the castle of the god of the dead. Although it wasn’t a medieval looking building and more of an ancient greek style, with lots of columns and statues everywhere. There were no guards and why would there be? The dead souls didn’t want anything to do with Hades, they were too busy wallowing in self pity. The three women simply walked right through the entrance gate and into the giant courtyard.   
  
„This is frightening.“ Snow whispered and instinctively took hold of Regina’s hand.

The older woman looked a bit perplexed, but let her be. Some villain she had become. Holding the hand of her nemesis to comfort her. Quickly she corrected herself. No, Snow wasn’t her enemy and she was trying her best not to be a villain anymore. Things change and people do, too.   
  
On each side of the entrance way stood a tree. They noticed the white cottonwood tree right away. It was the only thing that actually seemed alive, the green leaves a stark contrast to the black and white of the palace walls. Below the tree, they could make out a small pond. It’s water looked mucky and stale. Emma wrinkled her nose. That didn’t seem very sanitary. The cypress on the other side looked like a shadow that was frozen in place but the spring of the river Lethe to it’s roots seemed clear and fresh and very inviting. The burbeling of the water the only sound in the courtyard.   
  
„We need this one, right?“ Emma whispered to Regina, indicating the cottonwood tree and pond.   
  
„Yes. And we better hurry up, I have a bad feeling about this place.“   
  
Snow gulped. She was scared, but she let lerself be led to the pond underneath the tree. She had refused to let go of Regina’s hand though.   
  
„Go on, dear.“ Regina gently nudged the younger woman’s shoulder.   
  
Emma and Regina watched intently as Snow slowly reached out her hand and touched the muddy water. The effect was almost instant. The woman gasped dramatically and stumbled back a few steps before her eyes settled on the two frowning faces before her.

„I remember again. Oh, Emma, I remember you!“   
  
She took her daughter’s face between her hands as she spoke.   
  
„I am so sorry. I slipped on the bridge and had to roll to the side to avoid being crushed by Cerberus’ paws and I guess I fell.“   
  
„Doesn’t matter now. It’s good to have you back.“ Emma answered and Snow hugged her tight before turning to Regina, „I bet you’re extatic to have the old me back again, huh?“ she asked, only half joking.   
  
„You have no idea.“ the brunette replied, rolling her eyes. „Teenage Snow really isn’t my favorite.“   
  
Now Snow smiled at her and embraced Regina as well. „Thank you for taking care of me anyways, I know that couldn’t have been easy.“   
  
Regina was at a loss for words. Being civil to each other was one thing, but Snow being actually nice to her and taking her feelings into account, that was still a very strange feeling.  
  
„And, uhm, I’m really sorry for what I said this morning.“ Snow looked depply uncomfortable, her ears had turned slightly pink.   
  
Emma and Regina shared a quick look before the pixie haired woman spoke again: „I didn’t mean to suggest that you weren’t faithful to my father. I know you were a good wife.“   
  
Regina’s stomach turned upon hearing these words and her whole posture stiffened. Meanwhile, Emma felt queasy as well, partly because of the reaction Regina had to Snow’s words, which the other woman failed to register, and because Snow hadn’t apologized for the gay panic thing. It wasn’t the first time she wondered if her parents would accept her if she told them that she herself wasn’t straight.   
  
Thankfully neither woman could reply, because a few seconds later the rest of their family walked trough the gate.   
  
„David! Henry!“ Snow exclaimed happily and quickly closed the distance between them and too engulfed first Chamring then Hanry in a giant bear hug.   
  
„What are you doing here? I told you to wait for us.“ Emma admonished, her worries momentarily forgotten.  
  
„You’ve been gone for a long time and we were worried.“ Henry supplied, coming to stand between his mothers.   
  
„Well, since we’re all here now, how about we go find Hook so we can go home again.“ Rumple made himself known.   
  
That seemed to bring Regina back to reality, quickly scanning Henry to check for any injuries like she always did. When she was satisfied she nodded.  
  
„Let’s get this over with then, shall we?“   
  
The small family walked into the palace. They tried to be as quiet as possible and not attract unwanted attention. They needn’t have worried though, because the whole building seemed completely deserted. Not a soul was to be seen. The dark stone walls were poorly illuminated by torches and the long hallways were littered with trinkets, displayed on sockets and shelves. Emma looked around and could make out a model of an old rigid airship, an ancient thermometor and a broken pendulum clock. Strange, she thought and her gaze swept over a handheld film camera from the last century and some VHS tapes.  
  
„Dead technology.“ Regina whispered next to her. 

Suddenly it made sense. Hades was the god of the dead and apparently, that did not only include humans.   
  
They walked past a few early versions of a typewriter and into what seemed like the throne room, if the massive throne on top of a staircase in the middle of the room was any indication.   
  
„Is that a Triceratops skull?! How cool!“ Henry burst out, spriniting over the giant glass case containing said dinosaur remains.   
  
„From the Cretaceous period. Roughly 68 Million years ago. This one was found in Colorado. Neat huh?“ An unfamiliar voice sounded behind them.   
  
The six of them quickly spun around. Before them, now lazily sitting on the steps before the throne was a man in presumably his early forties with pale skin and dark hair but bright blue and slightly unsetteling eyes. His psysique didn’t seem all that threatening although he was over six feet tall, but there was something in the way in which he regarded them, his mouth slightly curled in a smile that conveied there was more to him than met the eye.   
  
„Hades.“ Gold almost hissed and Emma couldn’t say if he was angry or afraid.

The other man slightly bowed his head, a smirk on his face.   
  
„Yup, that’s me. Hades, God of the dead, death, the underworld, subterranean regions, night, dreams, curses, darkness, riches, the afterlife, metals and more. How do you do?“ 


	4. Trial and Errors

  
The god continued to grin at them.  
  
 „Welcome to the underworld. Some of my souls already told me you were traipsing around here. There hasn’t been a mortal down here since Hercules stole my dog, a few thousand centuries ago. So what brings you here?“  
  
Emma stepped forward. „We’re not looking for any trouble, we - I need to ask you for something.“   
  
„Very well, go on then. You have no idea how boring it can get in here, especially now that my wife isn’t here but with her mother.“   
  
So Emma quickly explained their case to him, glad that he seemed reasonable but still wary of his politeness. He almost seemed too reasonable.   
  
When the blonde was done talking Hades smiled slyly; it made Regina shiver. He reminded her of the old Rumplestilzkin, always scheming, always playing a game only he knew the rules to. But technically the god hadn’t given them a reason not to trust him either. Maybe he really was lonely. Regina knew all too well how that felt like.   
  
“Well, we do have rules here in the Underworld. Rules even I have to follow. One of them is that, contrary to popular belief it’s not me who passes the sentence over the dead, but a tribunal of three judges. So I’m gonna make a deal with you: You have to argue Killian Jones’s case in front of the judges and convince them that he deserves to get another chance. If you succeed, I’ll let him and you go back to the land of the living.”  
  
“And if we don’t?” Emma asked.  
  
The god shrugged his shoulders as if he was discussing a shopping list.   
  
“Nothing. If you don’t succeed, he’ll stay dead and you will be staying here until you find your way out. Which is next to impossible.” He stopped talking to look at each of them, “I think maybe you should discuss this in private. The tribunal for Killian Jones’s soul starts in two hours at the Agora. Just go back the way you came and turn left at the palace entrance. If you show up, our deal stands. And if you don’t, well, then I wish you the best of luck getting out of here.” And with a wink and a smirk he went up in blue flames and vanished.

  
  
“Alright, let’s get to this Agora.” Snow said, already moving to walk out the door as soon as the god had disappeared.    
  
“You are not really considering this, are you?” Gold asked, positioning himself opposite Snow in the middle of the room.  

“Of course we are. We came here to save Hook, this is how. Why are we discussing this?” Emma snapped, coming to stand beside her mother.   
  
“Because you are risking everything, based only on the word of a thousand-year-old liar.” Gold responded calmly. 

“That’s rich coming from you, Gold.” David intervened, having already moved Henry and himself over to his wife and daughter.   
  
The imp chuckled at their united front. 

“Ah, there they are again. The heroes. So much bravery, so much courage and trust, so small minds. Maybe you are willing to risk your lives for that little, but I am not. I am going home to my wife.”   
  
“And how are you going to accomplish that?” Emma snarled.    
  
“I always find a way. And I am certainly not going to walk into whatever trap Hades has laid out for us.”  
  
Emma snorted and put an arm around Henry, “This is unbelievable. Then stay here, Gold, we’re going either way.”   
  
The four of them started to move to the doors when Emma turned around again.   
  
“Regina? You coming?”   
  
The woman in question had stood on the sides with an unreadable look on her face. 

“Regina?” Emma looked at the brunette questioningly.

“I just – I’m not sure if we should believe him. Hades I mean. Why would he help us? This feels like Camelot all over again.”  
  
Regina looked up after her explanation and saw confusion, doubt and fear crossing Emma’s features. The emotion she seemed to settle with though was anger.   
  
“I thought we were a team,” she said in an accusingly tone.   
  
“And we _are_.” The brunette said, moving a step closer to the small family, “But can’t we think about this for a second? There is a lot at stake here.”    
  
Her eyes quickly flickered to Henry and then back to Emma, who had noticed where Regina had been looking. The blonde’s gaze softened. Regina was a mother first, always thinking about her son, their son, how could Emma be mad at her for that? She herself was worried as well, she was just out of options and pretty desperate at this point.   
  
“I know.” She said, her voice now soft, “But we are strongest together, right? And if it’s a trap we’ll find a way out of it, okay?”  
  
The brunette still seemed unsure. Emma stepped closer to her and lowered her voice.   
  
„Remember when you wanted me to save Robin in Camelot?“  
  
Regina nodded, already knowing where this was going. She didn’t like it one bit.

„Now I am asking if you’ll help me save Hook.“  

Regina sighed deeply. How could she say no?  She found herself nodding. “Okay.”  
  
She turned to her former teacher.   
  
„Rumple?“   
  
„Oh, no, dearie, I am going back to Erebus to work out a plan. You can come by after the trial. If you’re still alive then, that is.“

* * *

  
They had managed to reach the Agora just in the nick of time. It was an open place with some sort of spectator seats located at one side. On the other was a podium with three Thrones.   
  
Emma hadn’t spoken a word after leaving Hades’s palace. She was trying to think of a way to win this stupid case. Why couldn’t she just have to beat some sort of Evil, some sort of monster, that would be a lot easier for her. But making a speech, rallying, convincing people with her words instead of her actions never was her forte. She wished Regina could be the one to plead their case but Emma knew that she had to do it herself if she wanted it to work. On top of everything, she felt bad for how she pressured Regina into coming along. That wasn’t at all like her. But to be honest she hadn’t really been herself in a while now. She found that she missed the person she was when she first came to Storybrooke. Tough, brash, never one to compromise herself for anything, independent and not following the rules but with a clear moral compass. One she realized she often neglected these days. Was she still fighting for the underdog? For what was right? Regina had always brought that out in here. The mayor had challenged her and Emma had risen to that. Now she felt like she was struggling to keep herself above the waters.   
Emma shook her head. She needed to get these thoughts out of her head, she needed to focus on winning this case.   
  
They all sat down in the front row since the spectator seats were eerily empty. On the other hand, who would be here to watch?

Just as they had all taken their seats three men walked out onto the podium and came to stand before the thrones.

  
 “Today” the small but muscular man in the middle raised his voice, “We are judging over the soul of one Killian Jones, also known as Captain Hook.”  
  
And in a puff of black smoke, the man In question appeared in the middle of the place in front of the judges. He looked around confused, then he saw Emma and company.   
  
“Swan!” He wanted to run towards them but some form of magic kept him rooted on the spot.   
  
“You find yourself in the presence of the honorable Aeacus and Rhadamanthus, as well as myself, Minos, first king of Crete.” He said kingly, before suddenly bellowing, “so show some respect you little worm!”   
  
From her seat, Regina sighed. That would be infinitely more difficult than she had feared. She gently nudged Emma who sat next to her.   
  
“Go before he obliterates him on the spot.”  
  
The blonde nodded before standing up and breathing in deeply to center herself. Etiquette and politeness. Two more things Emma wasn’t good at.   
  
“Hi there. My name is Emma Swan. Your god, Hades, said I could argue in favor of Killian’s soul…Your majesties.” She told all of them while making her way to the podium, completely ignoring Hook.   
  
“But- this woman is alive! What are you doing here, wench?” Aeacus exclaimed, or maybe it was Rhadamanthus, Emma wasn’t sure and she didn’t really care either.   
  
“I was just telling you. We are here to get Hook back. Hades told me and my friends that if I were successful here today, he’d let Killian and us go back to our land.”   
  
The three judges grinned at each other.   
  
“Well, if Hades told you then by all means, go ahead. Tell us, why should this man, who murdered, pillaged and destroyed for hundreds of years get another pass?” Minos asked, sitting back on his throne.   
  
“Because, uh, he’s changed. He has done a lot of good things and redeemed himself.”   
  
“Is doing good things just to be redeemed really good?” Minos asked, raising his brow.  
  
When Emma didn’t immediately answer he continued.   
  
“And according to our information wasn’t he trying to curse you and this very family you now brought here just before he died?”  
  
“Yes, he was but that wasn’t his fault.”  
  
“It wasn’t? Then whose fault was it?”  
  
“Mine,” Emma whispered. “It is all my fault. I was the dark one and I made him one too, that’s why he did those things.”   
  
Minos nodded. “Tell me, Savior, when you were the dark one, what is the worst thing you did?”   
  
Emma hesitated before finally answering. “I broke my son’s heart.”   
  
Minos nodded. “Definitely not superb parenting, for sure, but definitely not like what he was trying to do to the woman he claims to love.”  
  
“I do.” Hook burst out. “Swan, you know I do love ya”

“Silence!” Minos bellowed again.   
  
Regina cringed. She hated this. She hated seeing Emma standing there, fighting for this pirate, who in Regina’s opinion didn’t deserve her devotion. Then she realized that she didn’t want Emma to succeed. She wanted that man out of Emma’s life. Out of their life. That thought shocked her. A hero wouldn’t think like that, she thought. But seeing Emma so distraught, so helpless, like she wasn’t Emma anymore at all, that she hated too.   
  
She heard Minos ask: “Why do you want him back?”  
  
“Because he deserves another chance!” Emma tried, but even to herself the words sounded empty. Probably because she didn’t know if Hook truly deserved that. Especially if Graham and Neal and everyone else apparently didn’t.   
  
“Why?” the judge asked anew.

Regina mentally prepared herself for hearing Emma say that she loved the pirate and would not be able to live without him. Her heart ached just thinking of it. She was surprised when she heard Emma suddenly shout:  
  
“Because I want to fix my mistake!”   
  
Now Minos smiled. “You want to assuage the guilt you feel. Thank you for this truth, Emma Swan. Sadly that does not excuse the defendant of his crimes. He stays.”   
  
And the two other judges intonated, “He stays.”  
  
Then the sound of slow clapping sounded through the open space. Everyone turned around to see Hades perched on the highest row of seats, a giant grin on his face.  
  
“Bravo. That was a really good play. So dramatic. This Human playwright, Shakespeare, would certainly be most impressed.”  
  
“It was all a trick wasn’t it? You never wanted to let him go” Emma put the pieces together.   
  
“Correct, little bird. And now because of you, I not only get one soul, I get two.” he grinned like a child on Christmas morning, rubbing his hands together gleefully.  
  
“What?”   
  
“You just admitted in front of the highest court there is that his bad deeds were your fault, so you are just as guilty as he is. Which in turn means you get to stay as well. And there is nothing you can do about it.” He turned to the rest of the group, “And because I am a generous winner I’ll give you one day to go back the way you came from and leave this place. No one will hold you. After that timeframe is over however the gates will be closed.”   
  
He abruptly stood up.   
  
“I’ll keep the pirate for now. You have until tomorrow evening to report to my castle, Savior, or everyone you love will be trapped here. Forever.“ 


	5. Sacrifice

Hades had left with the judges and Hook in tow. For a while no one said a word.  
  
„So, what’s the plan?“ Charming asked.   
  
„You want a plan? I think it’s a bit too late for that. Your daughter was just sentenced to eternity in this hellhole because none of you were willing to plan beforehand!“ Regina ranted.   
  
„Come on, Regina, arguing won’t help us now! We need solutions“ Snow defended her husband.   
  
„We wouldn’t need a solution if we never tried to get Hook back!“ Regina snarled.   
  
„Regina!“ Snow was outraged, „How can you say that? Emma wanted to save the man she loves!“  
  
The words alone made Regina’s blood boil.   
  
„I loved Daniel. And my father. And my mother. Even I never went this far! And Rumple loved Baelfire. He ruined all of our lives to get to him. Yet he didn’t do what we’re doing now. This was just too far. Some things you have to let go, this was one of those.“  
  
„She’s right.“ Emma said. Everyone turned around to look at her.   
  
„I made a mistake. I pushed too far and now we’re all about to pay the prize for that. And I won’t let that happen.“   
  
Snow shook her head, realizing what Emma was insinuating. „No, Emma, no. We’re not leaving you.“   
  
„Yes, you are.“   
  
„No, Ma! I am not going back without you.“   
  
Emma walked over to her son and took his hand in hers.   
  
„I know that this is difficult, but there is nothing we can do. You know that I told you that I gave you up to give you your best chance?“   
  
Henry sniffed but nodded. 

„And I need to do that again.“ She kissed his forehead.

Then she looked at her parents. „And you? Do you want to stay here and leave another child growing up without parents?“ Emma’s harsh words made her parents flinch. „Didn’t think so.“ 

She turned away from Snow and David and towards Regina, but before Emma could open her mouth Regina announced: „I’m staying“

Emma almost laughed. „A few minutes ago you cussed me out for the shit I put us in.“   
  
„That doesn’t mean I won’t do anything I can to get us out of it. All of us.“  
  
The blonde regarded her with a warm look. This woman would always remain a mystery to her.   
  
„No, you’re going, too. Henry needs a mom.“   
  
„But-“  
  
„His best chance has always been with you.“ Emma told her, her voice suddenly heavy with emotion.   
  
Regina just stared at her, tears in her eyes. Why did they always end up having to say goodbye to one another?   
  
The blonde continued: „You’re all leaving tomorrow. End of discussion“ 

* * *

  
The group decided to make their way back to the House of Erebus. Maybe the god and or Gold had a last-minute solution for them. Emma for her part had already resigned to her fate. She just wanted her family to get out of here safely.   
Once they reached the Inn, they found Gold sitting on a stone, his back resting against the black fence.  
  
„I take it didn’t go too well, dearies?“   
  
The family quickly updated him about what had happened and Rumple shook his head and sighed. „I don’t want to say I told you so, but here we are. I am afraid, that a verdict down here is different than a contract or a deal one would make with me for example. The last two can be broken but the first one can’t. Hades would send every beast in hell after Miss Swan.“

„Maybe Erebus has any idea of what to do“ David suggested.   
  
Again, Gold shook his head.   
  
„Why do you think I am sitting out here? Erebus is more than a little bit mad at us. I suppose Hades paid him a visit before I arrived and forbade him to help us. In any case, Erebus just threw me out, telling me to never come back and to tell you the same.“  
  
„Great. And what now?“ David wanted to know.  
  
Rumple indicated a pile of fabric to his left.   
  
„I had a feeling you would come here. So I took the liberty of procuring some camping supplies for the night.“  
  
„So, are we just giving up?“ Henry asked no one in particular.   
  
„No, kid. We’re just picking our battles.“  
  
„Feels a lot like giving up to me.“ the boy mumbled and went to grab a sleeping bag from the pile. Regina looked after him with concern.   
  
They had stayed up long that day, neither willing to go to sleep. But at some point, the tiredness had won out and Gold, Snow, David, Emma and Henry had fallen into a fitful sleep.   
While the others were resting Regina held watch. She wasn’t overly tired, not more than the last days at least. She looked over to Snow and Charming sleeping soundly in each other’s arms. Regina sighed. She didn’t miss Robin. She hadn’t missed him the last week after they had broken up either. It just never felt right again after New York. Marian had been the love of Robin’s life and Regina could never live up to that. She had already had to try to do that once before with her marriage and it just made her miserable. Even after they had found out that Zelena had killed Marian that didn’t change. She cared for him and his children, but she didn’t love him in that way anymore. Maybe she never really had. If she was being honest, Robin had been her soulmate a lifetime ago, when she had been a different person. They were just too different, she didn’t understand him and he didn’t understand her. Not the way someone else did; someone with long blonde hair, a red leather jacket and a lot of gut. Someone who just lost her freedom and possibly soul by trying to save her idiot of a boyfriend.   
  
She was pulled from her train of thought when she heard a noise. She stood up, a fireball already forming in her hand.   
  
“Who’s there?”   
  
“Hello, Regina.” A quiet voice answered.

Regina instinctively moved to wake the others. 

“Please don’t.” the voice said evenly, “I put a slight sleeping spell on them, I didn’t want to get interrupted. They are going to have a headache when they wake up but nothing is bad going to happen to them, pinky-promise. I think it’s time we talked. I have a proposition for you”

* * *

  
Emma woke up because her head hurt like hell. Henry and her parents next to her were waking up as well. They didn’t seem to fare any better.   
  
“Ow.” Snow murmured and held her forehead.  
  
“It’s like a really bad hangover.” David groaned, sitting up.   
  
While the adults complained about their headache, Henry looked around.   
  
“Hey, where’s my mom?”

  
  
Emma hastily looked around. No Regina.   
  
“I’m sure she’s around here somewhere, Henry.” Snow comforted her grandson.   
  
But Emma had an uneasy feeling. It was like she could sense that wherever Regina was, she was in danger.  
Quickly they branched out, screaming her name, looking everywhere for her but without success.

They met up again and together walked back to their camp. 

“Maybe she already got out of here.” Gold mused.

“No. She would never leave her family behind.” Henry said confidently.

It warmed Emma’s heart that her boy was so sure of his mother. Plus she didn’t believe for a second that Regina would’ve just gone on without them either.  
  
When they reached the camp, they immediately stopped. A figure was sitting there, partly hidden in the shadows.   
  
“Mom?” Henry asked hopefully before Emma could stop him. The figure stood up and walked into the light. 

“No, boy, sorry to disappoint you.”

“Hades.” David growled.   
  
“Yes hello again.”   
  
“What do you want? You already have me.” Emma was in no mood for games.   
  
“There has been a slight change of plans. I heard you were looking for someone?” Hades continued, not fazed in the slightest by the angry blonde in front of him, “Hm, who are you thinking about? The pirate or the evil Queen? Who would you want back more I wonder…”  
  
„Regina?“ The blonde asked, bewildered. „What did you do to her, you-“   
  
David quickly grabbed Emma’s arms to hold her back from punching the god of the underworld square in the face.    
  
“Why I? I didn’t touch a hair on her head” Hades snickered, “But I have to say, Savior, you do seem to lose an awfully lot of people close to you.”   
  
Emma seethed. Now Regina was in Hades' clutches and it was purely Emma’s fault. Hades tipped himself on the forehead.   
  
“Ah. I almost forgot. A deal is a deal. You can have your boyfriend back, little bird.” And with a snap of his fingers, Hook suddenly materialized from a black cloud.   
  
“Swan! You’re here, I knew you’d find me.” He hugged her and she halfheartedly reciprocated. Emma knew she should be happy now, but all she was feeling was empty.

Then dread filled her veins; she spoke: “What do you mean ‘a deal’s a deal’?”   
  
The god had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.   
  
“I was offered a soul in exchange for saving your pirate’s soul. What can I say, I’m a businessman at heart.”   
  
Regina.   
  
She… traded her life for … Hook? It didn’t make sense. Why would she abandon Henry and her – family for Emma’s boyfriend?

Snow let out a gasp, which brought Emma back.   
  
“What does that mean? Where is my mom?” Henry asked with a deep and steady voice, but with tears in his eyes.   
  
Hades smiled. “It means that our dear Captain here is now fully worthy of another chance, his crimes are forgiven and by extension, the Savior is now free to leave as well. As for your other mother… she is where she belongs. Soon she will be my greatest weapon.” His smile faded quickly, “Leave now, the gates will be open, no one will hold you.”  
  
He threw Emma a glance. “I’d suggest you get on your way because you don’t want to be here when I unleash hell on you.”

He chuckled at his own pun before he vanished in a cloud of his blue flames.  

  
Gold was the first one to speak. “You do know what this means right? Trading one’s soul isn’t something to do lightly. Trading your life is easy in comparison. A life and therefore suffering can be over very quickly. A soul, on the other hand, is eternal, which means suffering is eternal. And I am afraid Hades has something very specific in mind for Regina.”  
  
Henry stood shaking, tears filling his eyes, as Snow slung an arm around him trying to comfort him. David put his arms protectively around his wife and grandson.   
  
And Emma just stood there, rooted to the spot unable to even blink.  
  
She barely registered Hook’s voice and his hand on her shoulder, “Swan. Come on, we should keep going; Hades could be back any minute. The Queen knew what she was doing, maybe she can atone now for all the things she’s done in the past by giving us our happy ending back.”   
  
“You bastard!” To everyone’s surprise it was Henry who’d screamed. Like a flash, he ran over to the pirate and had shoved him to the ground before David could get to him and hold him back. The boy thrashed and screamed.  
  
“She didn’t do it for you, you idiot! She’s good now, she’s a hero now! She didn’t do it for you, you selfish, righteous asshole!”   
  
Finally, Emma was able to move again, regarding Killian with a quick glance. He didn’t seem severely injured.   
  
“Henry, Henry look at me” She positioned herself in front of her son, who was still held by David. Reluctantly blue eyes met hers.   
  
“Take a deep breath, okay, kid. In and out. You need to calm down okay?”   
  
And after a while it worked, but Henry was still devastated.  
  
“We have to find her, ma. Please, we have to find my mom” The boy pleaded.   
  
Emma nodded. “Of course, we’ll find her. We’ll find her and we’ll bring her back.”   
  
“And how do you plan on doing that, Swan? I’m not willing to switch places with her again, being down here wasn’t exactly fun.”   
  
“Can you just shut up for one second?!” Emma bellowed, “This woman just gave her soul for – my happiness.” She whispered, realization dawning on her, “For …me”   
  
Regina had only saved Hook because it meant saving Emma as well.

Emma had thought she couldn’t live while Hook was dead because of her, but that feeling was nothing in comparison with how she felt now with Regina being gone. She felt like if she left now she would never be happy again.

She needed to get her back. 


	6. Finding a way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!   
> Sorry for the short chapter and for Hook being an asshole again. I promise, it'll all work out in the end.   
> And thank you for all of your kind comments :)

The first thing Regina felt when she woke up was cold, which was strange. They were in hell, it wasn’t cold down here.

She opened her eyes and for a second she thought she was dreaming. The room she was in was round, small and poorly lit by a few torches. Old-fashioned stonewalls were surrounding her and it seemed like the cell didn’t have a ceiling. It reminded her of a deep well.   
Only something didn’t feel quite right with this room.   
In the middle stood a large banquet with mouth-watering looking food: Roasted ducks, porridge, vegetables, freshly made bread, ripe and juicy looking fruit, pies and wine.   
  
Inadvertently she felt her stomach grumbling. When was the last time she ate? She couldn’t remember. But Regina wasn’t a fool, she knew the story of how Persephone was trapped in hell after eating the fruits of the Underworld.   
A shiver ran down her spine and she moved to pull her jacket tighter only to realize that she wasn’t wearing her clothes anymore. Instead, it was a thin, scratchy cotton dress that didn’t even cover her knees.

She sighed and stood up to walk around the room. Now she noticed what had put her off earlier: The cell didn’t have a door.

She suspected that her magic wouldn’t work in here but she tried forming one of her trusty fireballs nevertheless. 

Nothing, not even a spark. Fantastic. 

* * *

  
It was Gold of all people who came up with an idea.   
  
„We could ask the Grey Sisters if they know where Hades is keeping Regina. They are three sisters who are as old as this place and share an eye and a tooth.“

„And why would these..people know where Regina is?“ David asked.  
  
„They know all sorts of secrets. Worth a try, wouldn’t you say, Miss Swan?“   
  
Emma nodded, her tone serious: „How do we find them?“   
  
„We don’t need to, I can summon them.“   
  
And so he crouched down, laying his flat hands on the ground, mumbling in an ancient language. For a while, nothing happened. Then smoke filled the air. When it cleared they could see three small women standing before them. They looked like they were thousands of years old and as Gold had said, they were blind and toothless save for one eye and tooth. The old woman in the middle who was currently wearing the singular eye screeched at them.

„What do you want?!“   
  
„Information.“ Gold calmly replied.

The three women laughed. „Why would we tell you anything?“   
  
With a wave of his hand the eye and tooth vanished and re-appeared in Gold’s hand.

Emma wrinkled her nose. This was disgusting.   
  
„Because otherwise you won’t get those back.“   
  
„You! You bad little man!“ The grey sisters screeched.   
  
„Now, where is Regina Mills?“

The sisters were silent. Gold closed his fist around the eye and tooth, slowly applying pressure.   
  
„What did Hades do to her?“ he asked.   
  
„He has her locked up! Don’t destroy the eye!“ One sister screamed.   
  
„Where?“   
  
„In a deep, deep hole of stone on the other shore.“   
  
„What. Shore.“ His fist was dangerously close to squashing the eye.   
  
„Styx! The river Styx. You need to cross it and then you’ll find a cave. She’s in there. Give us back what belongs to us!“   
  
With another dismissive wave Gold handed them back the eye and tooth and with an ear-ringing screech of "You'll regret this, little man" the grey sisters vanished in a puff of smoke.  
  
Rumple turned to the rest of the group, unphased.   
  
„I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the river Styx isn’t far away from here.“ 

„And the bad news?“ David asked. 

„It’s water is deadly to humans. We need to find a way to get the ferryman Charon to take us to the other side.“

"They really have some stupid river-related rules down here." Emma grumbled.

* * *

  
They had walked for a while now, with Gold as the lead and the others trailing behind him. Hook was walking a step behind Emma. The blonde had mostly ignored him since he came back.   
  
Emma was angry. At herself. And at Regina. Why was that woman always trying to sacrifice herself? First the failsafe, then the second curse on top of which she had also given up Henry and gifted him and Emma with new memories. Now, this.

  
“Gold, what did Hades mean with his greatest weapon?” Emma suddenly remembered what Hades had told them.   
  
„I don’t know but I’m guessing it has something to do with Regina’s resilience. You see, a soul can’t be destroyed per se, but it can be broken with a lot of pain. The more resilient a person, the more pain he or she can take, the more powerful the essence of their soul is going to be.”

“So he wants to break Regina’s soul so he can make a weapon out of her?” Snow asked, her eyes wide.   
  
“More of what’s left of her. I think he wants to get her to eat something from the Underworld.”

“Then she has to stay here, right?” Henry asked, trying and failing to mask his fear.  
  
“Partly correct. We only know of a goddess that ate a fruit of hell and therefore was forced to stay – Persephone, Hades’ wife. There are no records of a mere human consuming a fruit, so we don’t know what would happen. But I think it will change the entire soul of the person. Into something truly evil. And that combined with the power a broken soul could unleash...That would indeed be a great weapon.”  
  
“You sound like she’s gonna turn into a demon or something.” David tried to joke.

But Gold didn’t answer and just stared at them.

Emma’s eyes grew wide. “Are you serious?”  
  
“That would be my best guess, yes.”   
  
Hook chuckled. “Well I did describe her as a beast from hell once, but I didn’t think it would turn out to be this literal.”    
  
Emma turned to look at him flabbergasted. The entire track that had slowly been marching on came to an abrupt halt. “You think this is funny?!”   
  
Quickly, the pirate tried to backpedal.   
  
“No, no I was just…trying to light up the situation... You know I have been through a lot lately and you could really show some sympathy, Swan.” He chastised her.

“What?” Now it was Snow who couldn’t believe her ears, “Sympathy for what _you_ have been through? What about a thank you? You wanted to send us all to hell, to separate me from my baby! The baby I left in Storybrooke so we could go and save your sorry ass!”  
  
No one could say who was more shocked at Snow White cursing out Captain Hook. And she wasn’t nearly done yet.   
  
“And Henry now lost one of his mothers again, not to mention what Regina is probably going through right now and you have the nerve to demand sympathy?!”   
  
David softly grabbed his wife’s arm. “Snow, please calm down.”   
  
But the princess ripped her arm away from him and whirled around to face her daughter “And you! Are you going to let him treat you like this? Treat us all like this? And what of Regina? I thought you cared for her!”  
  
Now Emma grew really angry. “I do care!” she screamed, “Don’t you think I know how fucked up this is? How bad of a person I am to have let all this happen? I know that, believe me. And I am getting Regina back, if it is the last thing I do!”   
  
Now Snow smiled grim, reminding David of when he first met her. All bandit and no Princess. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. So let’s go save Regina”


	7. Living Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Quick TW for this specific chapter: torture, mentions of past torture, implied rape. 
> 
> I'm really sorry I am always doing this to poor Regina, but I promise it's going to get better!  
> As always thanks for reading and commenting :)

Regina was getting really frustrated.  
She was freezing and hungry and more than a tad claustrophobic.  
She had walked around the room for what seemed like hours, a hand on the wall, trying to find a hidden door, a lever or _something_. She had even tried climbing up the wall, but not enough stones were sticking out far enough for her to get higher than two feet off the ground before falling down on the hard ground again. Because of that her hands and knees were now scraped open, but thankfully the wounds had stopped bleeding soon after.  
But after that escapade, she was even more thirsty and hungry than before and the food looked even more delicious.  
  
“I’m not gonna eat it!” She screamed, her face facing the black abyss above her head.  
  
“Do you hear me?! I am never going to eat!” The echo of her voice was booming inside the confined space, making her ears ring.

She went over to the table and with effort and a grunt she flipped it over, making food fly and splash everywhere. She watched a few stray grapes rolling away. 

“Never.” She whispered, sliding down a wall and sat onto the cold, hard, unforgiving stone floor.  
  
Suddenly she heard someone clapping. Slowly and sarcastically.

She lifted her head and sure enough, there stood Hades, grinning from ear to ear. She wished she had her magic right now so she could burn that stupid smile off of his face.  
  
„There is no need for yelling Regina. I can hear you just fine.“  
  
„Where the hell am I?!“ She barked at the god.  
  
Hades sighed heavily. „You know, for someone who went with me willingly you are awfully angry.“  
  
Regina stood up to face the god. „I did not go voluntarily. You told me you’d hurt Emma and my family if I didn’t. So I made a choice. That does not mean I want to be here, you idiot. Do you even understand how consent works?!“  
  
She was actually glad that she managed to stay this angry. Otherwise she would probably start crying. And that was something she vowed she'd never do in front of the god.  
  
„Always so hostile, your majesty. But to answer your question, you are in the wailing well. It was designed by me, because my brother dearest, Zeus, demanded a new torturing technique for all the poor souls down in Tartarus, which is coincidentally just a floor below us. Originally I had planned on naming it the pit of despair, but I liked the alliteration of the well thing more.“  
  
He chuckled again before continuing: „Anyways, Zeus didn’t like it, he found it too literal and not metaphorical enough, so I kept it to myself - for a couple of special souls such as yourself.“    
  
Regina had listened with intent. One important thing she has learned from Rumplestiltzkin: knowledge was power. The more she knew about this place the easier it would be to get out of it.  
  
The god had started to walk around the small space, his hand gliding along the walls as he circled around. „This place is designed to make you relive all of the pain you’ve experienced in your lifetime, which you had plenty of, haven’t you?“

He came to stand in front of her. He had stopped smiling for the first time since he had entered.

„You have no idea how painful this is going to be. You’ll go insane. They all did, one way or another. And no one lasted long here. A day, maybe two, if you’re lucky.“

He reached out and stroked Regina’s cheek softly with the back of his hand. Disgusted, the woman turned her head away.

„And once we’re done here, the real fun can begin. You’re going to be my greatest creation so far. Like Lucifer, you'll have fallen and when you’ll rise up again you’re gonna burn down that little world of yours you’re trying so desperately to protect.“  
  
And with that, he vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

* * *

 

Emma and company finally found the ferryman Charon on the shore of the Styx.  
He was a long and gangly man, more skin and bones than anything else. Upon hearing them approach he lifted his head under the hood he was wearing. Piercing ice blue eyes regarded them with a neutral look.  
  
„Are you Charon?“ Snow asked the man.  
  
„I am. Who wants to know this?“  
  
„My name is Snow White, this is my husband David, my daughter Emma and my grandson Henry. And this is Mr. Gold. And Killian Jones.“ Snow quickly explained to the man.  
  
The ferryman leaned on a long stick and smiled at them, not unkindly, but without warmth.  
  
„And what do you want from me?“  
  
„We need to cross the river.“ Emma intercepted, growing restless.  
  
„Why?“  
  
„Can you help us or not?“ the blonde bit back without answering the question. She needed to get to Regina. Now.  
  
„I can. The question is what are you willing to give me for my service?“  
  
„What do you want? We don’t have your money“  
  
Now Charon smirked. „I never said I wanted to be paid in gold, now, did I?“  
  
Suddenly he looked almost sad.  
  
„You’re lonely.“ Henry observed, his brows furrowed in a way that reminded Emma too much of his adoptive mother.  
  
Ice blue eyes stared at Henry intently. „You’re a very clever boy. I want memories. Good ones. It is so cold down here, without laughter or warmth. If each of you shares such a memory with me, I’ll bring you wherever you want to go.“  
  
Emma nodded once.  
  
And so each of them stepped forward one at a time and Charon asked: „What is this memory about?“ and after the answer, he put a boney but unusual warm hand over each of their chests. After a few moments, the ferryman would take a deep breath before letting go and motioning for them to go sit in the ferry behind him.  
  
David was the first one to go. His memory was teaching Henry how to swordfight and how proud he’d been of his grandson.  
  
Snow was next. For some reason, Emma thought that her mother would name the birth of her son Neal as her happy memory, since that seemed only logical to her. Her perfect prince. The blonde was surprised when she heard Snow say: „When the first curse broke and I found my daughter again.“  
Emma swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat.  
  
She completely missed Gold going through Charon and only when she heard Henry’s voice did she come back to reality. „My moms saving me from Neverland.“  
  
Emma involuntarily smiled at that. It had been the first time it felt like Regina and she were a Team. A family. She barely registered Hook stepping forward and saying something about getting his ship back. She realized that she didn’t really care if a happy memory of his involved her or not. The opposite actually. Emma seemed to distance herself more and more from that man she thought she loved. Maybe, she thought, she had just assumed she was supposed to love him. Just like she was supposed to be the savior.   
  
„Emma?“  
  
„Huh?“  
  
„It’s your turn, sweety.“ her mother said softly, a look of understanding on her face.  
  
The blonde shook her head and stepped in front of Charon. She hadn’t been sure what memory to share with the ferryman but now a particular one wouldn’t leave her mind.  
  
_„Emma, wait!“ Regina had said and Emma turned around,_ lookinga _t the other woman expectantly. „I don’t want to kill you.“ the brunette had told her. It had warmed Emma’s heart and made her stomach flutter. „See? That’s a start“ Emma had answered, not being able to_ surpress _the smile that spread on her lips._  
  
Charon smiled at her. Did she imagine it or did his eyes look less like ice and more like the open ocean?  
  
„Thank you for your memories. I suppose we should get going.“  
  
A short while later they all sat in the ferry with Charon in the back stearing the way over the dark water. Emma stared straight ahead. Hook was somewhere behind her, still moping. She couldn’t care less. Since she had her so called boyfriend back she found that it didn’t make the cold hand clenching her stomach go away.  
She just wanted Regina back with them. For Henry’s sake of course. And to assuage her guilt.  
But deep down she knew that she wanted Regina back for another selfish reason: She missed her. A lot. Right now, she’d even settle for the bitchy, hardass mayor who was constantly arguing with her and complaining even when Emma saved her life. Especially then.

* * *

  
Everything hurt. She was sure she’d go insane soon.

She had never felt pain like this before. Regina felt like every ounce of blood inside her had turned to acid, every breath she took felt like a knife to the chest.  
She had stopped flinging herself against the ice cold walls when she was too drained to even stand and instead began scratching, no clawing, at her own skin to stop the burning inside, but to no avail.  
  
"I can’t get out of here." She thought, "And no one will come to save me. This is hell. Forever."

She cried out in agony, in utter helplessness. Then her eyes fell on a lonely grape, just two feet away from her. She heard Hades’ voice in her head as clear as if he’d be standing in front of her: „Eat it. The only thing that’ll make the pain stop is the food down here. Just eat it and the pain will stop. You won’t have to feel anything anymore.“  
  
„No.“ she gritted between clenched teeth. „You just want to turn me into some sort of monster.“  
  
Again she heard that insufferable chuckle.  
  
„True. But if you don’t eat it now I’ll just wait until your soul breaks from all the pain and then I’ll have my monster as well. I’m gonna win no matter what, the question is, how much are you willing to endure in the meantime?“  
  
„Fuck you.“ she growled.  
  
„Suit yourself.“ the god said nonchalantly before his voice faded and Regina was alone again.  
  
The brunette turned on her back with effort. She tried to breathe as evenly and deep as possible. _Breathe through the pain._  
She needed to get out of here. Regina knew the god and this hellhole had a lot more tricks up his sleeve and she didn’t care to find out what they were. But without her magic, there was no way of getting out. Her only hope was her family. That they wouldn’t leave, but instead search for her.  
_Emma will._ Her mind supplied. _She has never left you_. A single tear rolled down Regina’s cheek.  
  
"Find me, Emma. Please."

* * *

  
After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived at the other shore, farther down the river.  
  
„I’ll wait here until your return.“ Charon announced, as he steered the ferry to the shore.  
  
„Be careful getting off, don’t let the water touch you“ Gold instructed them.  
  
„Now how do we find this cave?“ David wanted to know once everybody was safe on dry land again.  
  
„We’re just going to have to start walking. We have to find it eventually.“  
  
„Can’t we just use a tracking spell or something?“ Emma asked.  
  
„We can try but I’m willing to bet that Hades has conceiled the entrance with some sort of magic to prevent exactly that.“  
  
Snow nodded. „Then let’s not waste any time and get going.“

* * *

  
A creaking door woke Regina up. She had passed out from exhaustion a while ago. She tried to sit up.

A door? There was no door here, how -

„Hello, dear.“ A familiar voice sounded from the shadows.

Regina couldn’t believe her ears. „Mo-mother?“  
  
A sigh. „Yes, dear, it is me. Don’t be so slow.“  
  
„Are - Are you really here?“  
  
Cora stepped out from the shadows. She was dressed in one of her embellished gowns she wore in the Enchanted Forest and the dress made soft rustling sounds each time she moved.  
  
„Well I am me and I am here with you.“  
  
Regina recoiled when she saw the distant and cold look in her mothers’ dark eyes. This wasn't the woman who had died in her arms. This was Cora, Queen of Hearts.  
  
„But you’re not real. That’s not the real you.“ She almost sounded like a child. It would be embarassing if she weren’t in so much pain already.  
  
„Well, I am your memories of your mother. That means I am as real as she was while she was alive. Is this her body? No.“ She stalked over to Regina, „But I can promise you, I can still touch you.“ She neered and slapped Regina across the face.

The brunette was so stunned by that that she didn’t even say a word.  
  
„What is it, dear? Cat got your tongue?“  
  
„I..“ Regina tried to form a sentence that conveied the conflicting emotions she was feeling. But before she could get any more words out she was flung against the opposite wall. She heard a loud crack and according to the pain she felt, it wasn’t the wall that had cracked. Strange, she thought, it seemed like she had broken a few bones with that move. Yet, it didn’t seem that they had broken at all. But she somehow felt the pain anyway. Which, she supposed, was the whole point of this spectacle.  
  
„You are such a dissapointment.“ Her mother spat at her, still suspending her in the air, „You could never do anything right.“  
  
She flung her back against the wall, before letting her drop back down to the ground. Cora walked over to her and pulled Regina up by the hair.  
  
„You should’ve been my way up. But instead, all you did was whine and complain and screw everything up. After all I did for you, after all I gave you!“ Cora growled before letting go of her daughter again.  
  
„And now…Now you are even more weak and pathetic than before, when you were pining after that filthy stableboy. Affiliating yourself with these people, these _heroes_. Desperatly seeking their approval and acceptance. Disgusting.“  
  
Regina didn’t bother to wipe her tears away. When she had started crying she didn’t know. It hurt. Every word her mother said was like a dagger in her side. Because it was true. Her mother had already said all those things to her at one point or another. And she had meant them.  
  
„I think this is deserving of a severe punishment.“  
  
Regina’s eyes widened with fear.  
  
„No. Mother, please…“  
  
But like so often before, her mother ignored her pleas and with a flick of her wrist Regina was kneeling in front of her mother in only her undergarments. An all-too familiar leather wip materialized in Cora’s hands. The older woman walked around her daughter, who had her head bowed.  
  
„How many lashes would you think are appropriate, dear?“  
  
Regina remained silent. She knew her mother wasn’t looking for an answer. Instead she tried to prepare herself for what was going to come.  
  
„Let’s count then, shall we! Hm, ten for helping this, this _savior_ and coming down here. Ten for trading yourself for them, you stupid girl. Another ten for saving that whole town of ditry commoners. And then 20 for killing me. And another 20 for not taking revenge on Snow White for the part she played. And an additional ten for being a stupid and weak excuse for a daughter.“  
  
It was an absurd amount and Regina knew that she would not be able to take 100 lashes. She supposed since in this hole everything was amplyfied, every pain, every heartbreak she’d ever felt, it seemed only logical that Cora’s punishments were amped up as well.

Cora let the wip crack in the air. Regina clenched her teeth. She felt like a little girl again, that didn’t remember which flag had belonged to which kingdom and was no shown why it was best to obey and pay attention during her mother's lessons.  
  
„Start counting, Regina.“ Cora ordered and struck.

It hurt like hell. Regina gasped.

„I don’t hear you counting!“

„O-One.“ Regina pressed out, tears filling her eyes again.

Crack.  
  
„Two!“ she cried out.

* * *

  
They had searched the almost the entire area. Emma had almost given up hope that they would find anything. Maybe these old witches had lied to them afterall.  
  
„There!“ Snow shouted and pointed to an assortment of boulders.  
  
„I don’t see anything“ Hook looked around disinterested.  
  
„There is something scratched into these stones.“ The princess insisted.  
  
The group went over to investigate.  
  
„These are some form of ancient runes“ Rumple informed them after taking a look at the scribbles.

„Well, can you read them?“  
  
The Dark One studied the stone intently. „It seems that these create a barrier spell, preventing someone from entering or leaving. But since it comes from Hades it is probably dark magic. Which in turn means that we may have a shot at getting in using light magic to counteract the spell.“  
  
Everyone turned to Emma, who suddendly grew very nervous.  
  
„But I…was the Dark One. Is my magic still light enough for that?“  
  
„I hope so. Otherwise I don’t think we’ll be able to get past.“

* * *

  
Her mother had been there for what felt like an eternity. Regina didn’t remember how far she’d actually counted. After a while, all the lashes just blurred together. But Cora hadn’t been done then. Her mother had choked her until she saw stars and nearly broke every bone in her body. A culmination of everything she had done to Regina in her childhood. Regina had lain battered on the floor, trying to breathe with the pain of broken ribs, a broken jaw and collarbone, even though her body wasn’t injured. Her mother had stood over her, looking down with disgust.  
  
„You’re worthless.“ she had spat once more before vanishing into the darkness.

  
  
Cora wasn’t the only one who’d visited her though.

After her mother had gone Regina lost conciousness once again and when she awoke she was able to move her body again, the pain had subsided to a bearable amount. She reached for her back with her now not broken arm. She didn’t feel any gashes.  
  
Then she heard that creaking door again. Quickly she scurried to the nearest wall and pressed her back against it. A primal fear had suddenly set into her bones and she wanted nothing more then to be one with the wall.  
  
„There you are, Regina.“ A male voice filtered through the cold air.

A voice that made Regina’s blood run cold.  
  
No, not _him_. Not _that_.  
  
„Are you going to stand there the whole night or will you fulfill your duties to your king?!“ Snow's father bellowed.  
  
When Regina didn’t move, because she was completely frozen, Leopold raised his voice again.  
  
„I’m going to say this only one more time: Come here! Now!“  
  
As if on autopilot she followed his order, stood up and walked a few steps towards him.  
  
„I swear, I thought I was so lucky when I first saw you. But you… Not only do you cry and fight me every damn time, but you still don’t manage to produce an heir! I told you a hundred times I need a boy who can look after Snow. But you dried up useless wench cannot even do that.“  
  
Regina wasn’t surprised when his fist made contact with her face after that. After all, this hadn’t been the first time.  
  
„Now, get out of those clothes!“ the king ordered.

* * *

  
Light magic.

Magic is emotion, so just focus on the good ones.

Light. magic.

Emma breathed deeply. She needed this to work. She thought of the good times she had had with her family.  
  
She felt the magic leave her fingertips and when she opened her eyes she saw the runes glow in a white light before the boulder burst into gravel and gave way to the entrance of the cave.  
  
Carefully Emma stepped inside. When nothing seemed to happen, the others followed suit into the darkness.  
  
Gold lit a fireball in his hands to provide some light and Emma couldn’t help but think that that was Regina’s signature move and that Gold had no right to that. She knew it was stupid, but still.  
  
„Look for anything out of the ordinary.“ Emma ordered, mostly to just say anything at all.

„Swan, we’re literally in some hellhole. What exactly does ordinary even mean?“  
  
Emma stopped and turned around. „Can you just try to not be an ass for a minute?“  
  
„Why are you so angry at me? I didn’t do anything!“  
  
„That’s the problem! Now make yourself useful!“

Despite the dire situation, Henry smiled. Right now Emma had sounded just like his Mom.

* * *

  
Regina didn’t move.

She only lay there, staring blankly at the abyss above her. If she had any tears left in her she’d cry. Leopold had hurt her more than words could describe. And she couldn’t even run away or defend herself. All she could do was what she had done countless times before. Cry and cry and cry and endure it.  
  
She knew that Hades was probably watching and enjoying her pain. Only waiting for her to eat the damn food.  
But she wouldn’t do that. She needed to hold on. Hold on, because she _couldn’t_ become a monster again. She had fought so hard, given up so much, she couldn’t turn back now. And she needed so protect her family. Regina had been a terrible villain as the Evil Queen, but she bet that what Hades was trying to make out of her was much worse still. She had to fight that outcome with every fiber of her being.

But she didn’t know how much more she could take.  
  
She had tried to tell herself that nothing that had happened was real, that it all had happened in the past, not now. That technically, she was fine.

It didn’t help.  
  
  
After Leopold had left, Rumple had come, as the Dark One, twisting her mind, showing her what evil lay inside her heart, the horrors she had unleashed.  
  
  
Henry had been there, too. Screaming at her „You’re not my Mom! I hate you! You’re the evil Queen and you’ll never change! Emma is my real mom! I would never look for you, cause you are evil and you deserve this! Now I can be with my real family, with the good guys.“ before turning around and leaving her.  
That hurt Regina more than anything she had experienced before. Seeing the hatred burn in her son’s eyes, the contempt and disgust he felt towards her.  
She had tried to convince herself that that version of him wasn’t her son. He didn’t feel that way, he loved her. But the echoes of his accusations still sounded in the well, raining down on Regina.  
  
So when the creaking door sounded again Regina didn’t even bat an eye.

* * *

  
„Here!“ Snow cried out, falling to her knees in front of a black hole surrounded by a stone circle.

„They said she’s in a deep stone hole right?“  
  
Gold inspected the aforementioned stones. „There are similar ancient runes scratched into these. I can’t fully read it but I believe they counteract any form of magic.“  
  
„So, once down there we can’t use magic anymore?“  
  
„Correct. A perfect place to hold a sorceress captive.“  
  
„I’m gonna go down there“ Emma announced.  
  
„Swan, that is much too dangerous. And you won't have your magic. You'll be defenseless.“  
  
„Shut up, Hook. I didn't have my magic for 28 years and I did just fine. I’m going.“  
  
She shared a look with her mother, who declared: „We need a rope. We’re going to lower Emma down there and once she finds Regina we can pull them back up.“  
  
Without a word, Gold held out his hand and produced a climbing harness with attached ropes.


	8. Light at the end of the tunnel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had happy holidays and I already wish you a happy new year :) 
> 
> TW: references to marital abuse, rape, suicide refrences, abuse, torture

She’d tried holding onto the good memories. Henry, Emma, her family, redeeming herself, doing right by the people she wronged, but she was just so exhausted.   
Greg Mendell had been there to torture her and it left Regina completely weak. She couldn’t form a coherent thought anymore, all she felt was searing pain in every fiber of her being. Even if she had wanted to eat one of Hades’ foods from hell she wouldn’t have been able to now.   
The nonexistent door creaked open again. She immediately knew who it was.   
_Daniel_.   
The young man sat beside Regina on the ground and stared at her for a while.   
„I am dead. And it’s your fault. Being with you was the biggest mistake I ever made. Loving you cost me my life. And you committed atrocious crimes, all in the name of avenging me. Now that will be my legacy. Your revenge. All you had to do to avenge my death was jumping from that balcony again.“   
His speech shook her in her core. It felt like a knife right through her heart. He stood up and left without another word or another glance.   
Regina screamed in pain and frustration.

* * *

  
Emma Swan was biting her lip. She had no idea how far she had climbed, her only indicator was the light above her that was getting less and less.   
Soon after she was basically blind in the darkness. She didn’t know whether the climb up the beanstalk or down this hellhole was worse.   
Then suddenly Emma heard Regina scream.   
This was worse, she decided there and then, infinitely more worse.   
A little while later she finally saw light under her dangling feet. She was getting closer, which was good cause she was nearing the end of her rope.   
Both literally and figuratively.   
As soon as she felt the tips of her toes reach the ground she started to quickly untie herself from the rope and scanned her surroundings methodically. She was afraid for Regina and wanted to find her, but she would help no one if she traipsed right into one of Hades’ traps.  
  
Green eyes slowly took in the turned over table and the abundance of food lying around. Back in the foster system and as a runaway she had never seen that much food in one place. Even though those days were long behind her, her fingers itched to stash some of the food for later. She noticed a single cherry right next to her feet. With a frown, she picked it up and regarded it suspiciously. Without a thought, she pocketed it and continued to look for a certain brunette. Old habits did die hard after all.   
Finally, her gaze fell onto a huddled body not far from her.   
“Regina.” The word escaped Emma’s lips, nothing more than a soft whisper and she quickly closed the distance to the other woman, who had her face against the wall. Emma registered the state Regina was in: unresponsive, almost naked and shivering like a leaf.   
  
“Regina?” Emma asked and dropped on her knees next to her, her hand reaching out to touch the woman’s bare shoulder to turn her around.   
Brown eyes were staring back at her, her face vacant of emotion. It scared the shit out of the blonde. Regina was completely apathetic, but she was breathing. Emma was starting to panic, she wasn’t equipped to deal with this. But somehow she would have to. The blonde gently stroked her hair, caressed her face, mumbling her name over and over again.    
  
„Regina, please, come back to me. We’re all here. Henry, David, Snow, even Gold. We’re all here to save you. I’m here to save you.“   
Finally, Regina blinked.   
  
“Emma” she rasped, sounding like she didn’t believe her eyes. Emma smiled at her, relieved beyond words that she’d found a way to get through to the brunette. Suddenly Regina began to cry, scurrying away from the blonde’s touch.   
  
“I’m not eating anything! Don’t make me, please. I know you’re not real, not real, not real.” She intonated over and over again. Now Emma grew very concerned again very fast.   
  
“Regina, it’s me. I am really here. Snow and David are here, too. And Henry’s here. Our son. He is worried sick about you. They’re all waiting for us up there. See?” Emma indicated the rope that was hanging freely a few feet away from them.   
  
Regina seemed to calm down a little.   
  
“You – are really here?”   
  
Emma nodded. “Yeah and now I am getting us out of here again.”   
  
„How do I know…that…you are real?“ She whispered, stretching out a shaking hand as if to touch her, before she seemed to think better of it. 

Emma’s brows furrowed. She didn’t know what had happened to Regina but judging by the completely traumatized woman before her it had been bad.   
As most of the time, when the blonde had no idea how to handle a situation, she went with her gut.

„Regina, I have no idea what you went through, but I promise you I am really here. And I am here to save my best friend. The woman I owe a crap ton. The amazing mother of my son and badass mayor. The woman who doesn’t deserve to be down here. I am real, Regina and I am here because you mean a lot to me and I could never let you stay here.“  
  
That made Regina cry again, harder than before. Emma was real. She felt it in her heart. Emma was kind and gentle, reassuring here instead of hurting her. She couldn’t be a projection like the others. And more importantly: Emma had brought Regina hope again. 

„R’gina? Are you okay?“   
  
The brunette shook her head. „You really came back for me…You’re really here.“   
  
Emma smiled, blinking away her own tears.   
  
„Of course I am.“   
  
And when Emma pulled the brunette into a hug, Regina let out a sob and clung to the other woman for dear life. Emma placed a gentle kiss on the top of brunette hair and softly swayed them back and forth. When Regina had finally calmed down enough to get up, Emma shrugged out of her leather jacket and helped Regina put it on and zip it up, since the woman still was only wearing underwear. At least she was halfway decent that way. Why she was in such a state Emma didn’t want to know right now. Then Emma helped her stand and slung the very end of the rope around Regina’s torso and fastened it to her harness.  
  
“Emma?” Regina asked in a quiet tone.

“Yeah?”   
  
“Why did you come back for me?”

Emma stopped what she was doing and looked at the slightly smaller woman on her side.   
  
“Are you kidding me? Did you think we would just leave you here? That Henry would leave you?”

When Regina didn’t answer and instead cast her eyes downward. Did she really think so little of them? Didn’t she care about what happened to herself? Emma decided that those questions didn’t matter right now, they needed to get out of here. But she wanted to make one thing crystal clear to Regina:

“I would never let that happen. I’d never leave you. Ever.” And without thinking much of the words she just said, because they were true and Regina needed to hear them, she pulled on the rope, twice, giving the others a signal to pull them up.  

  
The way up seemed a lot shorter than the way down, even with the added weight of Regina.  
They made it up safely and as soon as Emma and Regina managed to climb over the railing, Henry was in their arms, clinging tightly to his mothers.   
It was Snow though who helped Regina back on her feet a while later, giving her arm a quick squeeze as she did.

“Are you okay?”   
  
The older woman nodded tiredly “I will be.” After a short pause, she added, “Thank you.”  
  
Without a comment, Rumple waved his hands and his signature smoke surrounded Regina, dressing her in fresh, familiar clothes. Rumple may be evil and a monster sometimes, but he had seen the aftermath of what the king had done to the young queen way too often. And of course he had known what kind of mother Cora had been. Back then it had suited him, as it was driving Regina closer to the point of no return form darkness. Now though, he felt almost guilty. They had never spoken about any of it, but judging by the look Regina cast his way, he was sure his former pupil had understood his gesture nonetheless. 

* * *

  
The walk out of the cave had been a quiet one. Emma was watching the back of Regina’s small form while the brunette had an arm draped around Henry, both of them walking a few steps in front of Emma. The blonde scanned Regina’s demeanor for any signs of pain. She looked physically fine, except that she was leaning on Henry a little more than usual. Knowing Regina and her iron will to not let anyone know what was going on with her, she had to be exhausted to display her need for support in such a - for her glaringly obvious- way. Emma clenched her teeth. Another thing she was responsible for. The worst thing though, was the look in Regina’s eyes when Emma found her. Gone was the toughness, the fire and had been replaced with a swirling vortex of fear and pain. Emma wondered what Regina had to endure to make her look that way.

  
  
Charon was waiting for them just as he had promised. He looked Regina up and down, his face void of emotion.

„So you’re the on who’s going to make the master’s wishes come true.“  
  
But Regina was having none of his cryptic antics.    
  
„I am neither a slave nor a genie. I’m not doing anyone’s bidding“ she bit back.   
  
Emma for her part, was glad to see some of Regina’s fire returning.   
  
Charon just blinked at her. „I didn’t mean to offend you, your majesty. I am merely stating a fact.“  
  
„Well, your facts are wrong, because we’re getting Regina and ourselves out of here. There won’t be any wishfullfillment for Hades.“ Snow declared, putting a protective hand on Regina’s back.

The relationship between these two would always be a mystery to her, Emma thought. But as long as they weren’t trying to kill each other she was happy.   
  
„I do not wish to fight with you. It was merely prophezized a long time ago, which means it’s about to come true, no matter your intentions. I will however bring you back to the other side, since that was our agreement. But before I can do that, one of you still has to pay for my services.“ He looked at Regina, who frowned.   
  
It was Henry who explained everything to her then. If he noticed the pained look on his mother’s face at the mention of happy memories, he didn’t mention it.   
  
Regina tried really hard to find a happy memory. But every one she thought of, even the ones involving Henry, had been tainted by her experiences in the well. At least temporarily. She had thought about Henry calling her „momma“ for the first time, but her mind immediatley flashed back to his angry face down in the well, calling her „evil“ and „you’re not my mom!“ And that definitely didn’t spark happiness.   
But there was one person, who had been noticable absent during her torment.   
Emma.   
She walked up to Charon and nodded her head once, signaling that she was ready. When he had put his hand on her, she remembered: _„My superpower may not be perfect, but with you Regina, I always know when you’re lying. This time you’re not. You didn’t do it.“_ She had believed in Regina when no one else had. She had trusted her. Despite her past misdeeds. It made Regina feel like part of a team, finally not alone anymore for the first time in ages. Because right then, she had had Emma by her side. And she had never left since then.  
  
The ferryman looked at her, a silent understanding passing between them. He slightly bowed his head and said so quietly Regina nearly missed it: „Maybe you have a chance after all“  
Before she could ask what the hell he meant by that he ushered them all into his boat.

„You need to be careful, now. Hades will soon know the queen is missing and come looking. You best be prepared, for there is no man more ruthless in the underworld.“

* * *

  
They had decided to make camp in a field. Gold had called them the Asphodel Meadows, where apparently souls of the common people roamed around. It looked a bit like a savanna, tall grass and only a few trees. They had set up their campsite under one of these half-dead looking trees. Rumple had suggested that it would be harder for Hades to locate them when they were in a sea of souls instead of all on their own. It seemed better than no idea at all.

Emma sat on an almost rotten tree trunk and held watch, she was too agitated to sleep anyways. When she heard soft footsteps approach from behind her she didn’t need to turn around to see who they belonged to.   
  
„Hey.“ Regina simply said, before sitting down next to Emma onto the trunk.   
  
„Hey.“  
  
„I couldn’t sleep.“ Regina explained.   
  
Emma sneaked a glance at the other woman. „You okay?“   
  
She was surprised to see Regina shrug.   
  
„I guess it’s not surprising after the day you’ve had.“ She offered.   
  
„Hard to believe it’s just been a day.“   
  
Emma wanted to inquire further but the brunette swiftly changed the topic.   
  
„Did you notice what Charon said today?“ Regina asked the blonde at her side.   
  
„Mh, you mean Hades being the most ruthless person in hell?“  
  
„Man.“ Regina corrected her softly.   
  
„Right.“ Emma nodded. „Very Lord-of-the-rings, don’t you think?“   
  
„Beg you pardon?“  
  
„You know, Eowyn killing the witch king who can’t be killed by a man, cause she’s a woman?“  
  
But Regina just looked at her, uncomprehending. Emma gasped with feigned indignation.  
  
„Seriously? You know, we watched that movie with Henry not that long ago!“   
  
„I really have more important things to do than to keep up with every one of your pop culture references, dear.“ She shook her head, trying to hide the smile on her face, „Anyway, I thought it strange.“

„Yeah me too. But you’re not mentioning that just because, right? You have an idea“ Emma stated.   
  
Regina cocked her head to the side. „I’d call it more of an inkling, but yes I do.“  
  
Emma nodded and leaned back. „When you’re done mulling that inkling of yours over in that head of yours and wanna share, just let me know.“  
  
The brunette didn’t answer, but Emma didn’t expect her to. The woman was a perfectionist and once she had formulated a plan she’d let them know. The blonde regarded the other woman, studying the outline of her face which she could make out in the dark.   
  
„Regina?“ Emma quietly asked into the darkness.   
  
„Hm?“   
  
Emma licked her lips, she knew she needed to be delicate about this. But she also needed an answer to the question that seemed to be burning her from the inside out.   
  
„What happened in that well?“   
  
Regina appeared to continue to stare straight ahead.   
  
„I’m asking, cause I have never seen you so…“ she tried to find a word to describe the state of utter horror she had found the brunette in.   
  
„Weak?“ Regina whispered, her voice heavy.   
  
The blonde vehemently shook her head even though Regina probably couldn’t see her.   
  
„No. You’re not weak, Regina. You are so very strong.“  
  
„Didn’t feel that way, down in that pit.“   
  
For a while, Regina didn’t say a word. Finally, Emma heard her raspy voice.   
  
„It was like a culmination of everything that went wrong in my life, every bad thing that ever…happened to me, every bad thought I’ve ever had…they just came to life again. It was horrible. And the worst part was that I knew- I knew what was going to happen each time, because…“   
  
„Because you already had to live through it once.“ Emma finished for the brunette, when Regina stopped talking. 

She nodded. „A lot of these things,“ she paused and seemed to contemplate her words, „happened a long time ago. When I was a different person. A person I thought I had long buried. But now…“  
  
„You feel like you’re back there again. And just as vulnerable as before.“ Emma again finished for her.   
  
Now Regina turned her head to face the blonde.   
  
„Is that what happened to you?“ Regina’s voice was soft, laced with understanding.   
  
Emma sensed that Regina wasn't opposed to telling her what she went through, but she needed some kind of reassurance. That nothing that was shared between them was uttered to another soul, living or dead. A trade-off.   
  
„A lot of my foster parents weren’t really kind people. They were always in it for the money and didn’t care about us kids. But some of them were worse than others. I’ve had my fair share of beatings over the years, it was something you just expect to happen at some point, you know?“

Regina nodded, not wanting to interrupt the blonde.

„Anyway, uh, when I was almost seventeen, there was this one couple, they had money and I had a clean room all to myself and they never hit me. The woman didn’t care much for me though, but I didn’t mind. It was better than the alternative. The husband, he was really nice to me, showed me how to play baseball and other stuff. It was nice.“ Emma’s face hardened and her eyes grew cold. „Until one night. The wife was out of town on a business trip and he and I were watching a movie. I still don’t know how it happened, I…he kissed me and-and somehow got on top of me and I fought him, I told him no and to leave me the fuck alone, but I wasn’t strong enough…He told me that I’d better be a good girl and be quiet and not tell anyone about this, because he had money and I was just a dirty orphan, who no one wanted or cared about. Except for him. That I should stay and I could have anything I want.“   
  
„What did you do?“ Regina found herself asking softly. 

Emma chuckled humorlessly. „I ran away the same night. And I never went back into the system. A while later I met Neal and well, you know the rest. But I'll never forget the way he made me feel. LIke I was somehow less of a person, sub-human and not worth anything to anyone. Sometimes I still feel like that and I have to remind myself that I am not seventeen and helpless anymore.“

A couple of heartbeats everything was quiet. Then Regina spoke up again.   
  
„My mother was very strict and used to punish me a lot. She always used magic to glamor or undo the damage she had done but that didn’t make the pain go away. She was down there. It wasn’t primarily the lashings that hurt, but how she would talk to me, calling me weak and stupid for caring for all of you, among other things…I got to relive the time in the canary as well, with everything that came with that. The king was there as well… I- “ Regina stopped, unable to get the words out herself.

But Emma knew what she wanted to say anyways. „He raped you?“

The brunette lowered her gaze and nodded. „It was more or less common place back then. I had duties to fulfill, to my husband and my king.“ her voice had grown distant, almost detached. „I don’t want to dwell on this. And I did kill him. Still…“   
  
„What?“ Emma quietly asked.   
  
„I wish, that I had killed him myself. So that he could see who ended him, so I could make him suffer more.“   
  
Emma nodded. „I wish I could be there, I’d hold your purse for you“   
  
That made Regina chuckle and she threw Emma a mock-scolding sideways glance. Then she grew serious again.

„A lot of other people were there, telling me what a miserable human being I was, what horrors I had done, how evil and beyond help I was. Seeing Henry was the worst.“   
  
„You saw Henry?“   
  
Regina nodded, a single tear escaping her eye. „Yes. He screamed that he hated me, that I wasn’t his mother and never would be. That he wished I was dead…And I knew, I knew he wasn’t the real Henry, that he doesn’t think that anymore, but-it hurt. _So, so bad_. I felt like I was breaking apart.“  
  
More tears fell and Emma slung an arm around her and Regina laid her head on the blonde’s shoulder. They sat like that, in mutual misery, for a while.   
Still, it was almost bittersweet for Regina. She felt safe. Having Emma next to her made her feel protected in a way she had never felt in her life, ever.   
Unbeknowst to her, Emma thought the same. 


End file.
